Bug Mad Girl: #30DaysWild Day 5: Garden Bioblitz 2016

At dusk last night we set up the garden for this years garden bioblitz. We put the moth trap out, set up the trail camera, then we sat back to watch for bats in the garden. We usually see them in the summer, so were quite hopeful, but it seemed like a long time had passed before finally one swooped between the trees. Once we'd seen one we saw several fly past (or maybe the same one was just flying around in the garden!) It's always such a thrill to see them, even if you only catch a glimpse.

First thing this morning we opened the moth trap and found a few moths. We were a bit disappointed not to find any hawk moths in there and the numbers were quite low, but we did find a very fluffy legged pale tussock and a hawthorn shieldbug was sat on the lid of the trap. The trail camera showed a neighbours cat, but there was no sign of the hedgehog or little mice that we've seen in the past.

When it had warmed up a little bit we hunted through the garden, recording all the wildlife that we could find. Our most surprising finds were some little bird poos on the nettles that are either caterpillars or maybe beetle larvae of some sort that we are still to identify. We also found some tiny toadstalls growing in the lawn (the sort that pop up overnight, then are suddenly gone again). It was also surprising how few butterflies were in the garden, even when the sun came out in the afternoon (we only saw a couple of large whites all day).

We did quite well with a total of 58 species, although a few of those still need to be identified. Now to finish the rest of the id's and enter our results on the website.

You can find out more about the Garden Bioblitz 2016 at http://www.gardenbioblitz.org/

Our finds were:

Mammals: Bats (probably pipistrelle), grey squirrel

Grey squirrel

Birds: blue tit, great tit, robin, sparrow, dunnock, wood pigeon, blackbird, starling, red kite, jackdaw, magpie

The robins always get very excited when they see the moth trap is out
and will hop onto it right next to us looking for a free meal

Sparrow and a great tit (which looks a bit worse for wear)

Moths: pale tussock, yellow underwing, treble lines, common swift, diamond back moth, buff ermine, marbled minor, 4 little brown ones (still to be identified)

Pale tussock - fab furry legs!

Buff ermine

Marbled minor

Butterflies: large white
Other Invertebrates: hawthorn shield bug, ground beetle, strawberry snail, garden snail, common garden slug, brown centipede, white legged snake millipede, woodlice, ants, cuckoo's spit, worms, aphids, flesh fly, wasp, small bumble bee (to be identified), larvae that look like bird poo (which I believe are larvae of the hoverfly meligramma trianguliferum), 7 spot ladybird, garden spider

Flesh fly

Ground beetle

Hawthorn shieldbug

Strawberry snail

Bird poo larvae of the hoverfly meligramma trianguliferum

Plants: yellow flower (to be identified), dandelion, herb Robert, bramble, horsetail, nettles, ivy, woody nightshade, sow thistle, cleavers, broad leaved willowherb, rough meadow grass