Monday, April 9, 2018

Invasion of the giant beetles

An amazing experience with Hydrophilus piceus the night before last. I catch them regularly in the spring, usually just one or two, but a peak of seven in the 4 years I've been light trapping here. But an incredible 53 came to my light trap on the night of 7th/8th April, I suspect the largest number ever recorded together in Britain. And these are biggest beetles in Britain! Stunning.


Things are speeding up a bit here now, although still no really warm weather yet. Had a lovely Black Redstart in my garden yesterday, and nice to see a Cuckoo this morning. Recent additions are:

505 Trametes versicolor Fungi Turkeytail 05/04/2018
506 Meligethes nigrescens Coleoptera Nitidulidae 05/04/2018
507 Bombus pascuorum Hymenoptera Common Carder Bumblebee 05/04/2018
508 Eupeodes luniger Diptera Syrphidae 05/04/2018
509 Lasioglossum morio Hymenoptera Lasioglossum - Green Furrow Bee 05/04/2018
510 Cheilosia pagana Diptera Syrphidae 05/04/2018
511 Lispocephala falculata Diptera Muscidae: Coenosiinae 05/04/2018
512 Musca autumnalis Diptera Muscidae: Musca 05/04/2018
513 Muscina prolapsa Diptera Muscidae: Muscina 05/04/2018
514 Phylloscopus trochilus Birds Willow Warbler 06/04/2018
515 Ramalina farinacea Lichen   06/04/2018
516 Hirundo rustica Birds Swallow 06/04/2018
517 Egle lyneborgi Diptera Anthomyiidae 06/04/2018
518 Sepsis cynipsea Diptera Sepsidae 06/04/2018
519 Gonepteryx rhamni Lepidoptera:butterflies The Brimstone 07/04/2018
520 Gyrinus substriatus Coleoptera Whirligig beetle 07/04/2018
521 Gerris lacustris Hemipteroids Common Pondskater 07/04/2018
522 Anthophora plumipes Hymenoptera Hairy-footed Flower-bee 07/04/2018
523 Thaumatomyia notata Diptera Chloropidae 07/04/2018
525 Ischnodemus sabuleti Hemipteroids European Cinchbug 07/04/2018
526 Stenocranus minutus Hemipteroids Delphacidae 07/04/2018
527 Notostira elongata Hemipteroids Mirid Bug 07/04/2018
528 Mocydia crocea Hemipteroids Cicadellidae 07/04/2018
529 Adarrus ocellaris Hemipteroids Cicadellidae 07/04/2018
532 Lampropteryx suffumata Lepidoptera:moths Water Carpet 07/04/2018
533 Otiorhynchus sulcatus Coleoptera Weevil: Enteminae 07/04/2018
534 Ilybius ater Coleoptera Dytiscidae 07/04/2018
536 Panolis flammea Lepidoptera:moths Pine Beauty 07/04/2018
537 Phoenicurus ochruros Birds Black Redstart 08/04/2018
538 Acleris hastiana Lepidoptera:moths Sallow Button 07/04/2018
539 Cuculus canorus Birds Cuckoo 09/04/2018
Posted by at

3 comments:

  1. AliApril 9, 2018 at 11:59 AM

    Sad as it may be I'd be stoked to see a Cuckoo! I've had one on my local patch as a late summer passage migrant. I expect Seth probably can't get to sleep because of them. They do seem to love the islands

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. GibsterApril 9, 2018 at 5:43 PM

      Between the Cuckoos and the deafening silence of no Hydrophilus piceus smacking into the side of the light trap, plus the snores of the guy upstairs and the fact that it doesn't even get dark (!) I usually forgo sleep during the summer months :)

      Had a single Hydrophilus piceus hit the MVL whilst trapping at Dungeness once, I thought someone was throwing stones at the trap! Impressive beasts, 53 together must have been just amazing! Are they known to swarm like this?

      Delete
  2. Pete ForrestApril 9, 2018 at 5:48 PM

    What a truly amazing catch of diving beetles.
    Of course we all know you are really running a beetle trap not a moth trap!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)