Bob Chapman

I had them at two sites, both new, this year and have heard of a good few others, not sure if it is just a good year or if they migrate.

I'm thinking just a very dark Ectophasis crassipennis?

Any Dipterist's out there, does this look like Phasia aurigera to you? Picture taken today in S.Hants garden also lots of Ectophasia crassipennis about too. #Diptera #flies

Mothing continues to be good here in S.Hants, with Lunar-spotted Pinion NFG last night, but top spot went to the ladybird Calvia decemguttata aka the Jersey Ladybird, I got one a couple of weeks ago but it escaped before I got a picture. #teammoth #Hantsmoths

Having yesterday bemoaned my failure to see a Lappet for many, many years, I caught one today! A wonderful beast indeed, but sort of eclipsed by this rather tatty Dark Umber, which is strangely very infrequently recorded in SW Hants and the first that I can ever recall seeing. #teammoth #Hantsmoths

Certainly a common bird in S. Hampshire these days, I have just been watching some in my front hedge. Goldcrest only seem to outnumber them in pure pine stands these days.

Extraordinary! Did not get a fraction of that down south and not seen a Lappet in years, actually maybe decades.

Fig Leaf Skeletoniser NFG this morning, I had only ever seen the larval feeding signs before and that not locally. #teammoth #Hantsmoths

Ran 2 traps in the S.Hants garden last night, 125w MV & 20w actinic. More moths of more species in the MV but actinic had all the quality and all the migrants, including Small Mottled Willow, Bordered Straw and 2 Small Marbled (new moth for me). #teammoth

A new moth, at least as an adult, from the garden last night Acrocercops brongniardella. #TeamMoth

Thanks, I thought it was just me, hope ot gets fixed soon.

Q. Is iRecord down at present? I don't seem to be able to enter records, either I cannot login at all or if I can the records don't upload. The backlog is growing fast!

There were a few sites for them in Mayo 35 years ago, especially in the Moy Valley, I think the records should have made it onto the appropriate database. Good to know they are still there.

An interesting Villa from a weedy field margin beside the Beaulieu River today, photos only unfortunately.

I saw my first White Admiral of 2025 today in the New Forest when looking for hoverflies. @ukbutterflies.bsky.social

Much of the Thrift habitat at Needs Ore has been lost to management for waders. Although it might seem unlikely, it should be noted that the record there was by someone who had just returned from Lundy and I believe had the same bag with them, so possibly a stowaway?

I tried a lure at the site that produced the only known Hants record without success, of course, but figured I had the lure, I'm in Hants so what else was I going to do with it!

The only butterfly I saw in the garden today was this newly minted Dark Green Fritillary, I see the odd one most years but typically much later in the season. @ukbutterflies.bsky.social

A few from Ynyslas on Friday on a failed Pamponerus germanicus hunt. Philonicus albiceps, Dasypoda hirtipes, Thereva nobilitata & Yellow Shell.

Weird thing is I see Russ from time to time and he has never mentioned it, oddly neither did FE when I applied for the licence and did not come up at HBIC conference either.

Interesting, and no never heard of it, which is odd as I have moth trapped in the area for decades! As I am still asked for £10M PLI since using a hand net is "high risk" I will not be doing any general invert survey on the open forest. Might follow up the VESPA thing, thanks.

After a windy week it was good to get the butterfly transect done. Disappointing to find the small grassland that usually delivers well has been mown flat, not sure why, not for a crop and not grazed.

I will continue BTO, HOS & other formal surveys which are covered, it is just for when I am out and about, the addition beyond observing and photos is only occasionally using a sweep net & the odd specimen for ID, which is why it seems excessive. On the +side no requirement for reporting to FE.

Yes, I reported a fire site in a large den I found on the Forest yesterday, I have called in active fires in the past too, so it is not just the records that they can benefit from when people are out and about. £10M is more than I have to supply for commercial surveys!

I spend a lot of time in the New Forest and have held a licence to do casual invertebrate surveys. This year I have been asked to provide £10M public liability insurance by @forestryengland.bsky.social which is prohibitive and presumably intended to deter species recording, anyone else had this?

Diaperis boleti from the New Forest today, appropriately on a bracket fungus.

A large, colourful hoverfly perched on a piece of bark.

Caliprobola speciosa still looking good in the New Forest this afternoon. #Diptera #Hoverflies #NewForest

The snail-killing fly Pherbellia annulipes from a walk in the New Forest and 1 of 2 female Scaeva selenitica in the garden today, perhaps suggesting an arrival of migrants, both despite almost no sunshine today. #Diptera #Flies

Foolishly I believed the claim that we would get heavy rain so did not trap. In fact we got about 1mm so would gave been fine. There still seem to be issues with iRecord so no idea what this year's list is here.

Sub-urban garden "mini-meadow" starting into summer now the spring flowers are over. It may not hold viable populations but does provide a stepping stone habitat for lots of species, e.g 31spp of butterflies recorded so far.