Richard Sutton

Ferruginous Bee-Grabber, Sicus ferrugineus a dark red fly with a yellow face and an abdomen that curls forwards under the rest of the body feeding on a bright purple Scabious flower

Ferruginous Bee-Grabber, Sicus ferrugineus a dark red fly with a yellow face and an abdomen that curls forwards under the rest of the body feeding on a bright purple Scabious flower

Ferruginous Bee-Grabber, Sicus ferrugineus a dark red fly with a yellow face and an abdomen that curls forwards under the rest of the body feeding on a bright purple Scabious flower

Ferruginous Bee-Grabber, Sicus ferrugineus a dark red fly with a yellow face and an abdomen that curls forwards under the rest of the body feeding on a bright purple Scabious flower

The latest in a long list of amazing insects I have found in my Mum’s wonderful garden - Ferruginous Bee-Grabber, Sicus ferrugineus
😁

Darn good Day in Dorset😎 Scarlet Darter, Wasp Spider & Grass Snake pic by @rjsutton1975.bsky.social and a first for Staffs to come home to trapped by my mothing mate @nickpom9.bsky.social

Ghost Moth, Hepialus humuli a very attractive orange moth with intricate darker lines and blotches and a furry thorax

Work moth of the day today was this female Ghost Moth, Hepialus humuli a nice surprise as I walked out onto the yard for the first time #teammoth

Pied Hoverfly - Scaeva pyrastri a good sized black and white Hoverfly with 3 curved white bars on its tail and silvery wings held spread to either side

Pied Hoverfly - Scaeva pyrastri a good sized black and white Hoverfly this time with a head on view

Spent some time watching this fabulous Pied Hoverfly - Scaeva pyrastri in a North Staffs garden this afternoon 🙂

Latticed Heath, Chiasmia clathrata a pretty little moth mainly white but with an intricate pattern of black checks and lines

As pretty as any butterfly - Latticed Heath, Chiasmia clathrata from yesterday.

#TeamMoth

A black and white hoverfly feeding on a purple Scabious flower

A black and white hoverfly feeding on a purple Scabious flower

A black and white hoverfly feeding on a purple Scabious flower

A new hoverfly for me on Thursday, Eristalis intricaria, another of the bumblebee mimics and this one quite convincing as mimics go 🙂

A small dark grey butterfly with distinctive white streaks on both wings and an orange border to the hind wing, 2 white tipped tails also on the hind wing. This one is feeding from a bramble flower

White-letter hairstreak found last weekend in Staffordshire. Only the third I have ever seen and my first self found- happy days! 😀

Sand Lizard, a small brown lizard with stripes running down its back and dark spots with a white centres along its flank.

Common Lizard, another small lizard again with pale stripes down its back but also a rich brown stripe down its flank which extends to form a mask around the eye

Wall Lizard, a larger lizard with a long tail. Bright green in colour but with black areas around its eye and chin

Slow Worm. A legless lizard resembling a small snake, it is bronzy brown all over and this one is hiding its head in moss

June has been particularly good for reptiles and amphibians this year, 5 days in Hamps/Dorset certainly helped with 3 lizard species seen during this break plus Adder and Grass Snake. Then the following weekend a Slow Worm was found in Shropshire.

Figure of Eighty an attractive brown moth with a white mark resembling the number 80 on each wing

Figure of Eighty an attractive brown moth with a white mark resembling the number 80 on each wing

Pebble Hook-tip another attractive moth with hooked wing tips and an orange colour

Clouded Border a pretty little moth mainly white but with a dark grey border

By my standards last night was a good catch with NFL Figure of Eighty - Tethea ocularis and NFG Pebble Hook-tip -Drepana falcataria being the highlights also Clouded Border - Lomaspilis marinate are always pretty 🙂 #TeamMoth

Figwort Weevil - Cionus scrophularia a tiny grey beetle with a black dot in the centre feeding on a Buddleja flower head

Figwort Weevil - Cionus scrophularia a tiny grey beetle with a black dot in the centre feeding on a Buddleja flower head

Platycheirus granditarsus a small shiny hoverfly with an orange tail and glossy head and thorax

Platycheirus granditarsus a small shiny hoverfly with an orange tail and glossy head and thorax

Another visit and another 2 species recorded for my Mum’s garden 🙂. Figwort Weevil - Cionus scrophulariae which I have just found out also feeds on Buddleja and the hoverfly Platycheirus granditarsus

Dusky Brocade, Apamea remissa an attractive mottled grey moth taken against a red tile background

Not a great night’s mothing last night with only a handful visiting the trap but Dusky Brocade, Apamea remissa was new for the garden. #teammoth

Fork Tailed Flower Bee - Anthophora furcata a grey and ginger bee with a yellow face

Fork Tailed Flower Bee - Anthophora furcata a grey and ginger bee with a yellow face

Narcissus Bulb Fly - Merodon equestris a black and orange hoverfly that is an excellent mimic for a bumblebee

Meadow Plant Bug - Leptopterna dolabrata a small black and yellow bug perched face down on a grass stem

It’s been a great week for insect in my Mum’s garden this week with 2 NFG Narcissus Bulb Fly - Merodon equestris and Meadow Plant Bug - Leptopterna dolabrata plus a new for life Fork Tailed Flower Bee - Anthophora furcata

Near Fordingbridge

Brussels Lace, Cleorodes lichenaria an intricately patterned grey, gold and black moth with it’s wings spread wide to the sides

On a mini break to the New Forest area and ran the moth trap last night. Nothing outstanding with 18/11 but best for me was Brussels Lace, Cleorodes lichenaria which we just don’t get back home
#teamMoth

A very small grey fly with black patterning on its wings sitting on a green stem of Oxeye Daisy

A very small grey fly with black patterning on its wings sitting on a green stem of Oxeye Daisy

A case of plant it and they will come today when I found this Tephritis neesii on the Oxeye daisies, we only seeded these daisies in the garden 3 years ago and this is the food plant for this fly 🙂

A queen Tree Bumblebee - Bombus hypnorum with 2 male Tree Bumblebee trying to mate with her amongst green leaves. All bees are black with gingery brown backs and a white tail.

Not something you see everyday, a queen Tree Bumblebee - Bombus hypnorum plus 2 suitors

Narcissus Bulb Fly - Merodon equestris, a black bodied hoverfly with a ginger collar and white tail

Woundwort Shieldbug, 2 bronze coloured bugs attached together at the rear sitting on a green leaf

Common Blue Damselfly - Enallagma cyathigerum a long slim insect with pale blue bands down its tail

Some recent insects found at my Mum’s garden, it really is remarkable the diversity of insects to be found in this suburban garden. Narcissus Bulb Fly - Merodon equestris, Woundwort Shieldbug -
Eysarcoris venustissimus and Common Blue Damselfly - Enallagma cyathigerum

Lesser Stag Beetle, an impressive black beetle with strong jaws against a background of pale wood

Golden-bloomed Grey Longhorn Beetle, a yellow and black beetle with long black and white banded antennae sitting on a green nettle leaf

2 excellent beetles from the weekend just gone. An impressive Lesser stag beetle - Dorcus parallelipipedus and the ever popular Golden-bloomed Grey Longhorn - Agapanthia villosoviridescens. Both found in Staffordshire

Our next event is Small Mammal Trapping Wolseley SWT (with WATCH group)
10/5/25-11/5/25

Meet at Staffs Wildlife Trust HQ car park

First check 9am Sat 10th

check and reset traps 8pm Sat 10th

Final check 9am Sun 11th

Grid ref SK024203
Postcode ST17 0WT
www.staffordshiremammalgroup.org/new-events

My moth trap continues to disappoint lately but I recently got a new species of caddisfly, Phryganea grandis. The
largest British caddisfly apparently!

A small slim hoverfly with red eyes and a yellowish band towards the end of its tail sitting on a green leaf

A small slim hoverfly with red eyes and a yellowish band towards the end of its tail sitting on a green leaf

My new favourite hoverfly from the weekend Common Dainty, Baccha elongata

Wasp Beetle, a striking black and yellow striped beetle with orange legs sitting on a green leaf

Wasp Beetle, a striking black and yellow striped beetle with orange legs sitting on a green leaf

The highlight of my weekend was finding my first Wasp Beetle, Clytus arietis for Staffordshire
😀

Agreed one of the best flies there is in my opinion

A small hairy bee perched vertically on a pebble wall Red Mason Bee - Osmia bicornis

A small hairy bee perched vertically on a pebble wall Red Mason Bee - Osmia bicornis

Love these Red Mason Bees - Osmia bicornis, great little hairy things

City Nature Challenge 2025: Staffordshire & Stoke-On-Trent The 2025 City Nature Challenge for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

It is city nature challenge weekend starting tomorrow and Staffordshire is participating again this year. It would be great to better last year’s excellent 4th place finish

www.inaturalist.org/projects/cit...

The underside of a Pebble Hook-tip high in a tree, an orange moth against dark green tree bark

The upper side of a Pebble Hook-tip moth high in a tree silhouetted against a bright sky

Adela reaumurella, Green Longhorn moth, a shiny moth with long black and white antenna amongst bright green leaves

Pebble Hook-tip - Drepana falcataria and Green Long-horn - Adela reaumurella found during a walk around Cannock Chase on Saturday, please excuse the terrible photos of the Hook-tip it was high in the trees.
#teammoth

A dark red Nomad Bee with a yellow banded tail sitting on sand

A dark red Nomad Bee with a yellow banded tail sitting on sand

A really smart Nomad Bee found in North Staffs today, shame I’ll never be able to get it down to species

A Tawny Mining Bee sitting on a green and yellow Ivy leaf in the afternoon sunshine

A Tawny Mining Bee sitting on a green and yellow Ivy leaf in the afternoon sunshine

This Tawny Mining Bee - Andrena fulva certainly seemed to be enjoying the late evening sunshine in the garden this evening 🌞

Green Sandpiper feeding in the muddy flood margin

Dark-edged bee-fly amongst dry leaves

Green-veined White Butterfly on a forest floor

Female Clarke’s Mining Bee

The #localbigyear list keeps ticking along 2 Green Sandpiper being the latest also good to get some insects enjoying the sunshine #Bee-fly 🪶 #ukbirding