The recent spell of decent weather continued for yesterday's
LNHS survey at Bookham Common, and as usual I was treated to a number of new inverts in the company of the beetle and bug experts, with a welcome vocal supporting cast of
Lesser Whitethroat and
Cuckoo.
One particular large bug caught my eye resting on low vegetation by the LNHS hut, and turned out to be
Box Bug (
Gonocerus acuteangulatus), a species previously confined in its UK distribution to a single site in Surrey, but that has since expanded its range throughout the southern counties, making use of commoner foodplants.
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| Elaphrus riparius running across typical muddy, wet habitat. |
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Apion frumentarium- I've netted a number of vibrant red Apion weevils in recent weeks, but have been too afraid to key them out by myself!
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| Box Bug |
Whilst everyone else had their heads to the ground, I kept an eye on the sky and managed a single moth 'tick' in the form of
Agonopterix purpurea; a characteristic species of chalk grassland using wild carrot as a foodplant. Quite a nicely marked moth considering the genus it's in...
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| Agonopterix purpurea |
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm rather liking the look of next week's forecast...
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| More lepidoptera please. |
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