Hawfinch skull found near Burley in the New Forest today (7th January 2012)

Ivy Mining Bee in Bitterne

Colony of Ivy Mining Bee Colletes hederae by Bitterne Bypass. Many hundred of bees causing a lot of damage to the bank.

Bitter Beech Bolete

It is now the fungus season – look out for this one in areas of acidic soil – the Bitter Beech Bolete Boletus calopus or as I prefer to call it, the ‘Rhubarb and Custard Bolete’. It is the only one of the boletus tribe to combine a red stem (with a network) and yellow pores that bruise bluish. It is indeed  bitter and not one for the pot. It seems to be commoner in recent years like it was back in the early eightees – may be it likes cold,dry winters and miserable, wet summers!

Manila Clam

This is one to look out for on the beaches around The Solent and Southampton Water……….

The Manila Clam Tapes phillipinarum is a recent introduction from The Phillipines. Some shells were found on the recent Southampton Natural History Society trip to Calshot. There are several native related species of ‘Carpet Shell’ but most are different in shape or lack the crosscut ribbing on the outside of the shell. The most similar native species is the Crosscut Carpet Tapes decussata. The Manila Clam is smaller than Crosscut Carpet with a more attractively marked shell and inside the valves is usually a characteristic egg-yolk yellow patch.

Jersey Tiger moth

Seen at Mercury Vapour Lamp in a garden near Sway, SW Hampshire on 1st August. Photographed by G.Palmer.

Another example of this moth was seen at a similar Mercury Vapour moth light at the Highcliff under-cliff east of Christchurch, Dorset on 28th July. This moth can also be seen at flowers in the daytime. Worth looking out for in August in the Christchurch and Bournemouth areas, elsewhere in Dorset, on the Devon coast or on the Isle of Wight.

Moths on hogweed

About time I issued a new post I think. Yesterday evening (19th June) I discovered that hogweed Heracleum sphondylium is not only attractive to a broad suite of insects during the day but that it also attracts moths at night. At Peartree Green in Southampton I found 2 Heart-and-Club Moths, 1 Smoky Wainscot, 1 Pale Mottled Willow, 1 Light Arches and one plume moth – Platyptilia gonodactyla on hogweed heads it just 5 minutes.

You may wonder why I was wandering around Peartree Green at night – the reason was that I was looking for glow-worms – I didn’t see any of those though.

Speckled Wood butterfly already

Southampton Natural History Society member Andy Collins reported a fresh specimen of the Speckled Wood butterfly in the Valley in Southampton yesterday (4th March). As far as we are aware the earliest date this butterfly has ever been in Hampshire. This species is unusual in overwintering as a larva or as a pupa. Presumably this individual had emerged that day  from a chrysalis.