Tag
Isle of Wight Moth Report 2018
The Isle of Wight Moth Report 2018 is now available, and can be downloaded here.
Iain Outlaw says: “In what turned out to be a good year for moth recording there was a slow start to the season. The first three months of the year were particularly poor with overall numbers and species diversity lower than normal.
“A prolonged spell of hot dry weather in June and July saw a big change in moth numbers and a decent run of migrant moths. (more…)
Black Locust Gall Midge
Black Locust Gall Midge (Obolodiplosis robiniae) on the Isle of Wight and some interesting parasitoids
Iain Outlaw
Although I was aware of this gall midge I hadn’t previously looked for it. In June I noticed several False-acacia or Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) trees in flower on Shanklin Big Mead so I had a look for the galls. The large trees were not easy to examine but fortunately there were also lots of self-seeded saplings close by. Checking those saplings the galls were immediately obvious so several were collected for examination. (more…)
Ladybirds
Luke Ellison sent us a very comprehensive report of several different species of Ladybirds he had seen and photographed on the Island’s coast. This was in response to our poster which requests sightings. Our Beetle Recorder, Bill Shepard, has a ‘Beetle Drive’ going at the moment. These particular ones included ‘Harlequin Ladybirds’ which we are interested in as an increasing species here.
