I snapped this Dark-edged Bee Fly basking in the sunshine earlier in the week. These flies emerge in March and and are very fast fliers, unless you are lucky enough to catch one taking a rest. They lay their eggs in bees nests where the bee fly’s larvae eat the larvae of the bees. The long snout looks menacing, but it is just to take nectar from flowers. I didn’t see any at all last year as early Spring here was so miserable, so this one is appreciated!
These sexton beetles are a regular catch in the moth trap during March-April. It’s always good to catch a big beetle! The adults overwinter emerging in the Spring. They tend to fly at night, searching by smell for dead birds or mammals, where the female lays her eggs and on which the larvae subsequently feed.
It’s the first day of Spring, and I’m delighted to find some frog spawn in my garden pond. I was a bit late digging it out last year, but this (and some dragonflies, later in the year, hopefully) was exactly what I was hoping for.
After some warmer days, this was the first outing in 2025 for my moth trap, catching some typical moths for mid-March. All of these moths fly for a couple of months in a single generation in the early Spring.
Found this lurking in the greenhouse; good to remove it before I start trying to grow anything there.
#980 Irish Yellow Slug, (Limacus maculatus)
Spotted a few fungi while catching some fresh air on Cleeve Hill this week. Purple Jelleydisc (Ascocoryne sarcoides) and Witches Butter aka Yellow Brain Fungus (Tremella mesenterica) provided quite a satisfying colour combination on a dead Gorse branch. Elsewhere there were a few groups of Funnel toadstools (Pseudoclitocybe cyathiformis), which are typically a late fruiting fungus showing from October thru to January.
I’ve got three of these visiting the bird feeders - they prefer sunflower hearts if any are available.
I came across a few examples of this tiny parasol growing in patches of moss on Cleeve Hill - it must be a fungus of some kind. It’s a very pretty translucent white fungus, taken on macro, so about 1 cm across, with a parasol that looks like it’s made of petals rather than pleats. So far I didn’t find any photo quite like it on the internet. The nearest comparison is Pleated Inkcap, of which there were plenty growing nearly, but these are bigger with a brown centre; and they tended to be found more in grassy areas on the hill.
Almost a year to the day since my last Autumn visit to Cleeve Hill, and there were lots of fungi to see. A good collection of Waxcaps and other grassland fungi. Great views of a Short-eared Owl were a bonus (but sadly no photos of that).
Moths are getting a bit thin on the ground, but normally I’s expect more than just a single Light Brown Apple Moth by the trap in the morning. There were a lot of gnats attracted to the light thpough, including Winter Gnats and a Sylvicola species, which I believe is Window Gnat. The latter turns out to be a new species for the garden, as previously I only noticed Clear-tipped Window Gnat (Sylvicola punctatus), whereas last night’s has grey wing-tips if you look close enough. This is a common species though, that can be found all year round.
All of a sudden we have birds back in the garden. A month ago I only recorded 10 species during the week for the BTO Garden Bird Survey; this week 22 species. Among the returning winter visitors are a group of Redwings in my neighbour’s holly tree, a Chaffinch, a pair of Blackcaps, two Song Thrushes, a Mistle Thrush guarding any mistletoe berries in the area, the first Coal Tit for a while and, of course, a Sparrowhawk. In this case the Sparrowhawk, a male, grabbed one of a small influx of Blackbirds and after a short struggle, plucked it, before heading off somewhere to finish off eating it.
Back from a short trip to Frejus in the South of France, where I came across this magnificent caterpillar in the garden. Oleander Hawk-moth (Daphnis nerii) caterpillars start out green, then morph to this orange/black form, before pupating, then turning into a particularly spectacular hawk moth. There is a ton of Oleander (Laurier Rose) in the garden and this was disturbed by pruning. The leaves of Oleander are poisonous, but these caterpillars can consume it okay. Adult Oleander Hawk-moths are rare Autumn vagrants to the UK and the larvae are not recorded here. The French name for the moth is Le Sphinx du Laurier-rose.
These handsome bugs over-winter as adults and can be found all year round, usually associated with Birch trees and sometimes Hazels. Their range covers nearly all of UK.
I don’t get many dragonflies in the garden, so it’s always good when one turns up. I’ve had Common Darter previously; but also only late in the year during October. We had our first real frost last night, but this species seems relatively hardy as it can be seen right through to December if the weather is mild. It frequents ponds, including small garden ones, but also often occurs quite far from water.
As we had a nice dry night on Friday, I was able to put out the moth trap. I caught nine species, including this trio - all of them fairly typical for the time of year. Frosted Orange (Gortyna flavago) flies during Aug-Sept, it’s larvae live inside the stems of thistle plants. Blair's Shoulder-knot (Lithophane leautieri) is found around Cypress trees and flies a bit later - Oct-Nov. It is a non-native species first recorded in UK in 1951, but now widespread in gardens across most of England. Pale Mottled Willow (Caradrina clavipalpis) flies from July-September; its larvae are found on grain of cereal crops, including those that have been harvested.
These green caterpillars, with their shiny black heads, are shredding the leaves on my raspberry canes (not much of a problem at this time of the year). They are larvae from a sawfly called Cladius brullei. This is sometimes called the Blackberry Sawfly, though from what I see they prefer raspberry leaves.
The Ant Beetle, also known as the Red-bellied clerid, is an ant-shaped beetle with distinctive stripes and strong mandibles. The larvae and beetles themselves live under tree bark, where they prey on bark beetles and their larvae. This one presumably found its way into our kitchen on some firewood.
I rescued this motley crew of spiders from the brown garden waste bin at the weekend. I’m sure that the depot where they take all the garden waste must be a really great place to look for bugs! Lots of spiders this time of the year…
This bright yellow, foliose lichen seems the only one that grows on the felted roof of the dormer on my house. I was up a ladder clearing out the gutters and saw there are quite big patches of it all round this part of the roof - the limestone tiles on the main roof have plenty of other lichens, but not I think this species. Xanthoria parietina is a common lichen, also often found growing on twigs.
These moths rest with their wings rolled up so they look at first glance like craneflies/ Disturbed while I was gardening at the weekend, this is a Common Plume. They can be found all year round, but Autumn seems when they are most plentiful. The larval food-plant for this species is Bindweed.
Passionate about nature, based in Gloucestershire UK; this site is about creating a wildlife friendly family garden and exploring the diversity of animal & plant species that share it with us.
As a nature lover and wildlife gardener I started wondering about the biodiversity in my backyard and just how many species from plants to insects to birds to mammals might live in or visit it.
Much of the wildlife in my small, village garden has been present right under my nose for years without my really appreciating it, so on the way I am learning a lot about different species and how to make a wildlife-friendly environment for them; also getting engaged more in conservation activities around Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and the Cotswolds.
My garden species tally started from zero on June 1st 2018, the target was 1000 species, which I eventually hit in June 2024. But there’s still plenty to see and learn about.
I'm very interested in your comments & advice: whether it's about the blog, some help with identification or just how to make my own little Eden better for wildlife. So please leave a comment or drop me a line if you feel like it!
Graham Tompsett
microedenproject@gmail.com
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