Bank Holiday Bioblitz

Bird News: Ibsley Water - Ringed plover 2, redshank 1, goosander 1 juv. Ivy Lake Kingfisher several from both hides, mostly if not all juveniles and a green sandpiper.

I continued with my recording of things today and so far have identified 361 species on the reserve over the last two days. This includes 179 plants ( last night's total was the result of very poor addition!), 71 birds, 8 other vertebrates, 10 butterflies, 6 dragon and damselflies, 31 moths and 56 miscellaneous other invertebrates. I have a number of as yet unidentified things that will add as and if I can identify them. I did not attempt any fungi and several other groups were more or less ignored. Several were new to the reserve including the Conopid fly below, it is a parasite of bumble-bees called Conops ceriaeformis.

In the so far unidentified group comes the miniature velvet ant species below.

More easily identified, but also new for the reserve as far as I know was the predatory shieldbug Picromerus bidens.

Another shieldbug, but this one not a new record was hawthorn shieldbug.

I had a go at some harvestmen and found again the new one I first recorded a few days ago, the relatively recent colonist Dicranopalpus ramosus, this one seems to have captured a springtail, which I have not identified!

I think this harvestman is Paroligolophus meadii, a scarce species of dry heaths, if it is then it would be a new record.

Lastly a real mystery, two larvae, not found by me, they looked like caterpillars, but had too many prolegs, so I guess they are sawfly larvae, but I have never seen anything quite like them, they were covered in white "fluff". They were quite large, at least 2cm long and were eating alder leaves. If anyone knows what they are I would be delighted to hear from you.