Sevenoaks Light Trap

Green Carpet, Colostygia pectinataria.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 25 April 2017.

This was the first trap of the year at Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve.  We have been having cold weather, particularly at night, so I didn't expect to see much, but there were 9 life forms in or around the trap.  Four of them were moths .. including this petty Green Carpet, which was resting on the woodwork near the trap.  It's always worth having a careful look around.  Not everything that has been attracted to the light actually goes in.

As well as the moths there was a dead-looking Parent Bug,

Alder Fly, Sialis species. (There are 3 very similar.)   Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 25 April 2017.

an Alder Fly (a type of Caddis fly),

Honey Bee, Apis mellifera.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 25 April 2017.

this handsome honey bee, and

Ichneumonid wasp, Ophion species.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 25 April 2017.

this scary-looking Ichneumonid wasp.  These can deliver a sting, apparently, though I have never been stung by one nor heard from anyone who has.

The other moths were a Brimstone Moth (which I didn't see but which was spotted behind some wiring when the trap was put away), a Common Quaker, a Clouded Drab and this beauty:

Pale Tussock, Calliteara pudibunda.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 25 April 2017.

A Pale Tussock.  They always rest like this with furry front legs outstretched. 

Wasps from 2015

Hornet, Vespa crabro.  West Wickham Common light trap, 11 September 2015

Now for some wasps found in my moth traps in 2015.  The first photo is a magnificent hornet, all honey tones and aggressive stance.  Look at those mandibles!  I think that's a moth wing scale sticking to one of them.  Luckily, it was not very lively first thing in the morning.

Common Wasp, Vespula vulgaris.  Hayes light trap, 11 August 2015.

If you compare it with this common wasp, you can see that this has the same basic body plan, but differs in coloration and patterning.  The common wasp is also much smaller, but can turn up in the trap in large groups.

Ichneumon wasp, Ophion luteus.  West Wickham Common light trap, 11 September 2015.

Ichneumon wasps look quite different.  They are parasitic, laying their eggs usually in the larvae of other insects.  There are 1200 species of ichneumons in the UK alone, of various sizes and colours.  This one is quite large.

Male ichneumon wasp.  Hayes light trap, 6 June 2015.

Here's a smaller ichneumon which I wasn't able to identify.  You can tell it's a male because it does not have a long ovipositor.

Chalcid wasp.  Hayes light trap, 21 July 2015.

That's the sort of thing I mean.  This very small wasp is a female.  This group of wasps lay their eggs on the larvae of gall wasps, and the ovipositor has to get through the quite thick shell of the gall.  There are so many parasitic wasps ... and wasps turn up all the time in light traps.  One moth trapper used to collect all the tiny wasps that came along for a friend who was a wasp man.

Wasp.  Hayes light trap, 21 July 2015.

Finally, a wasp I was not able to identify at all, but it's a smart-looking creature, don't you think?