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  May 15th and whilst
the morning is hazy I believe that it will be sunny later in the same way
yesterday was. Has summer come at last? We shall have to wait and see.
Meanwhile there is an abundance of insect life. Yesterday I managed to take a
picture of this beetle, and the shieldbug Palomena prasina. The latter
is obviously not aware of colour co-ordination as it placed itself on a piece
of green hosepipe.
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 The
evening produced some moths, one of which whilst I could not get close enough
to photograph I am convinced was a Alucita hexadactyla. I also saw
what I believed to be Agonopterix arenella but this proved too
difficult to photograph. However this scorched carpet moth turned up
trumps!.
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  Today is not over and it already looks promising
for moths. This morning I very nearly missed a wonderful opportunity as I was
leaving to help at Harlow Rotary Clubs Young Musician of the Year
Competition. On the bricks by the front door was this angle shades moth, phlogophora
meticulosa. It really is one of the most attractive moths I think. Both
images will open up, they are larger than usual but show some quite good
detail.
 I was wrong about it being promising
for moths, I only found one this evening in our kitchen and I believe it to
be a Bee Moth, Aphomia sociella.
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  May 16th and an absolutely beautiful day for
our Rogation Ramble, following our service of Holy Communion at St. Mary's we
walked as a group across the fields, using local footpaths to the church of
St Giles where we had our Christian Aid Lunch. Something very much enjoyed by
all, you can see a picture of us nearing the end of our journey on the left,
St. Giles' spire stands out against the sky. To the right I have included a
picture of some of the bean flowers we passed on the way. Then when I took a
friend home and shared a cup of tea in her garden I was fortunate enough to
be able to take a couple of shots of wildlife.
 This picture I believe to
be a White-legged Damselfly, Platycnemis pennipes. According to
the British Dragonfly Society's web page this is "Uncommon, though can be
locally abundant on rivers and canals in southern England and a few sites in
Wales." My friend's garden is not near a river or canal as far as I am
aware, the nearest one being at least 1/2 mile away.
 Also in her garden we saw these
14-spot Ladybirds, Propylea quatuordecimpunctata. It is amazing the
different varieties of this insect there are.
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  May 17th and another beautifully
sunny day. Following yesterday's Rogation Ramble I returned to part of our
walk where we saw what someone believed to be a gypsy moth "nest".
Without my powerful zoom lense I hadn't bothered to take a photo but today
went back fully equipped. The pictures indicate that my friend was correct.
He was concerned as these moths can defoliate and cause great harm to oak
trees. As you may be aware we live not far from Hatfield Forest. I have left
the pictures large so that if you click on them you can see more detail.
There are hundred of caterpillars inside them and one or two have ventured
out onto the branches. Two young oak trees were defoliated nearby and had
what appeared to be the remains of old "nests". When I looked this
moth up the information indicated that it was not so common now there has
been a concerted effort by MAFF, the Forestry commission and others to
eradicate this potential threat to our native oaks.
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   In
the evening there were 2 moths, one of which came into our utility room and
the other which came to light later. The one to the left is the buff ermine, spilosoma
luteum, the one to the right a green carpet, colostygia pectinataria.
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May 18th and once again we have had a delightfully sunny
day.
 To begin the photographs
there is a correction to yesterday's entries. The excitement over what we
thought was a gypsy moth "nest", (incidentally the correct term is
web) was unfounded having taken a clearer picture today of some of the larvae
and sending them to Ian Kimber of UK moths and Brian Goodey of Essex Moths,
they both pointed me in the direction of the brown-tail moth, Euproctis
chrysorrhoea. They can sometimes be considered a pest although not such a
threat as the gypsy moth. Certainly the trees in the area in which we found
them were swarming with them!
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Whilst at the church this morning I saw a thrush which
posed quite nicely for me. Then to keep my moth sightings up to date last
night I saw the first brimstone moth of the year. As it was rather high up
and I have some good photos of it already I did not risk broken limbs to
obtain another.
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 May 19th and once again on a
beautifully sunny day I was in the churchyard waiting while Pete finished
mowing the grass. As I loked around I saw in a buttercup this little green
creature which I can only think is a young bush cricket, probably of the
speckled variety, Leptophyes punctatissima. According to the Oxford
Book of Insects after the eggs hatch into worm-like larvae these
crestures moult regularly and on each successive moult become more like the
adult. I have included a picture to show the insect on the buttercup to give
an idea of proportion. To one side of this there is an inset to show detail
of the jaw from another photo. Then I have also given a close up of the
insect. All the pictures click open.
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