Wildlife

James Lowen

As the air warmed, it was time to head east for the entomological main course. A fortnight back, at a private site near Herne Bay, I had glimpsed a probable Lesser Emperor a fortnight back but failed to find the handful of Red-veined Darters (and the Lesser Emperor!) found by Marc Heath the following day. I was keen to 'pap' the Red-veins and get better views of the Emp.

This sandy pit really is a dragonfly-watcher's delight: both for reasons of quantity and quality. I was treated to the sight of several hundred freshly emerged damselflies, darters and skimmers take to the air for the first time. A few score Black-tailed Skimmers buzzed hyperactively and a dozen Emperors cruised malevolently over the water. A few male Emerald Damselflies - seen only with binoculars at distance - 'felt' like Scarce, but that species has not yet been recorded here. Perhaps...

The highlight was unambiguous, however. Red-veined Darters were strikingly abundant. Circumnavigating the water edge, I counted an absolute minimum of 18 territorial males and watched two or three pairs ovipositing in tandem. Quite magical. No sign of Lesser Emperor, of course, but after a morning of whores, horehounds and red-veins, that didn't seem to matter.

Then to was northwards to the Isle of Sheppey to have a look for Dainty Damselfly, which was rediscovered in Britain in 2010. I have previous with this slender Odonata, having found the first female at the public site below the main road bridge in June 2011. This prompted a significant twitch. But with no sign at this particular site in 2012-13, my hopes were low. And rightly so. Not a schniff of anything daintier than the numerous mating Blue-tailed Damselflies. A shame – but there was plenty of compensatory winged interest. A handful of Scarce Emerald Damselflies were as classy as ever. Hundreds of freshly emerged, enthusiastic Ruddy Darters bounced around. Meadow Browns were numerous, and the only moths I took the time to identify were both maternally monikered: Mother Shipton and Mother of Pearl.

BLOG

22 June 2014 Whores, horehounds and red-veins

A sunny morning in Kent with a variety of insects as targets. First up was Rambur's Pied Shieldbug at Tyland Barn near Maidstone - one of the only sites for this species, which was first found in Britain as recently as 2011. I arrived early doors to find (a) the reserve gates firmly locked and (b) a 'lady of the night' doing something indeterminate before getting into her sports car and driving off. This bizarre encounter seemed a good omen: the shieldbug's foodplant is Black Horehound - and its Latin binomial is nothing other than sexmaculatus. Uncanny. The locked reserve gates didn't thwart me, as there was Black Horehound on the verge outside... and the first plant I examined had a late instar Rambur's on it. Checking other plants revealed no further Rambur's but a handful of standard Pied Shieldbugs. Nevertheless: result!