White Letter Day

It's not often that I'm tempted out to try and see a new butterfly; don't know why but despite being a keen moth recorder for 18+ years now, butterflies have never really got me that bothered. But I picked up news of one that I've not seen before just up the road at Huncote Embankment, and so I nipped over late this afternoon. Immediately found the spot and one of the butterflies, though some crappy record shots were about all I could manage ......

White-letter Hairstreak

To outline just how unbothered I am about butterflies, that's only my 44th British species.

I do like a good Marbled White though, and there were three or four knocking about on the plateau but catching up with one as they rested for seconds was harder work than it was probably worth!

Marbled White

Hoverflies were notable today, with Scaeva pyrastri in the garden and Volucella pellucens at the Embankment. Both of those evaded the camera, but I got these ....

Volucella zonaria - an absolute beast of a hoverfly

Episyrphus balteatus - several in the garden today

 Syrphus ribesii s.l. - female with predomninantly yellow hid femur

Syrphus vitripennis s.l. - female with part black hind femur

 Not a hover - Green Shieldbug nymph

The garden moths traps were back out last night, and there was a fairly decent catch. I'll post a few moth photos another day apart from this one - still enjoy seeing this in the garden, and still can't believe it was extinct as a British species just over a decade ago!

Small Ranunculus

Croft Hovers

These three hoverflies are all from that excellent walk around Croft Hill on Sunday morning ....

I coaxed this one on to my finger for a closer look and took a few one-handed shots for nothing. This one turned out to be extremely useful as it shows the modified front legs and facial profile that help to confirm the ID as Platycheirus manicatus (or at least I am pretty sure it is). New for me.

This one is (again I am pretty sure) Dasysyrphus albostriatus, with those thoracic markings helping to ID. Another one that I haven't recorded before.

I think this is Syrphus vitripennis.

The next shot is one of a series I took of a preening bee at Gilroes Cemetery on Tuesday - a Nomada sp. but as yet no idea which one.