Tag Archives: Southern Hawker

Natural History

Summer Butterflies in Gunnersbury Triangle

Ringlet, a handsome species we’ve hardly seen here, increasing
A Peacock butterfly on Buddleia: once a common sight in every suburban garden, now a special treat. We used to call the Buddleia the “butterfly bush”; it would be covered in Nymphalids – Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady, sometimes dozens at once.
Red Admiral sunning on Birch by the small meadow
Definitely not a butterfly: a newly-emerged Southern Hawker dragonfly stretching its wings just above the main pond amongst the Fool’s Water-cress
Water-Plantain beside the boardwalk: the water table is really low for this early in the summer. Netty failed to find any new-season toadlets around the pond where she’d expect them to be. The leaves are slightly heart-shaped, but nowhere near as arrowhead-like as its cousin the Arrowhead.
Water-Plantain’s 3-petalled flower
Natural History

Deer and Dragonflies … at Hallowe’en

Deer floating in sunny grass, Richmond Park

Well, I might reasonably have expected to see Red Deer in Richmond Park in today’s beautiful sunshine, but Dragonflies for Hallowe’en? That was a bit of a surprise. I saw that magical sparkle about 7 times, twice consisting of an attached pair (“in cop”) of Common Darters. Most of the rest were certainly also darters, but once I caught a flash of blue, so perhaps that was  a Migrant Hawker or more probably a Southern Hawker dashing into the distance on the breeze.

Natural History

Willow Emerald Damselfly at Gunnersbury Triangle

Willow Emerald or Spreadwing Damselfly, rainbow iridescent in the beautiful Indian Summer sunshine. The wings never quite close over the back as they do in other damselflies.

Southern Hawker ovipositing on boardwalk (in front of my boots)

Common Darters in Cop

Dog’s Vomit Slime Mould, Fuligo septica, on Birch log

Natural History

Willow Emerald, Woodmouse, Volunteers in Gunnersbury Triangle

Willow Emerald Damselfly on Willow in GT. This is a new species in the UK, only having arrived from the Continent in the past couple of years. It appeared in numbers ovipositing in the GT pond in August. The species perches with its wings not fully closed together. The iridescent green is handsome when it flies, remarkably well camouflaged when perched.

Woodmouse by GT bicycle wheel

Female Southern Hawker on Broom

Tara Netty Eleni volunteers mowing Anthill Meadow (and looking at interesting specimens). We found small toads, frogs, and newts in the grass.

Natural History, Natural Patterns, Nature Reserves

Gunnersbury Triangle Bug Day – Purple Hairstreak, Rove Beetle

Purple Hairstreak found in pond (worth a look at full size, click and see)

Bug Day pond dipping – water level alarmingly low

(Prob. Southern) Hawker Dragonfly Nymphs, Pond Snails. We also saw plenty of Ramshorn Snails, a flatworm, a leech, small diving beetles, damselfly nymphs, water fleas, Greater Water Boatmen (Backswimmers), young newts (with 4 legs and gills) and more.

Identifying Birch Catkin Bugs

Cream-Spot Ladybird

Devil’s Coach Horse (Ocypus olens) – a Rove Beetle (Staphylinidae), splendidly fast and wriggly

The magnificent Fibonacci spirals of a Teasel flowerhead

Urban Green-Veined White on Buddleia

Young Entomologist at Work

Natural History

Autumn in Gunnersbury Triangle

Leaf Spot on Oak. The spread of the fungus is limited by the tree’s defences, resulting in circular patches of damaged tissue.

Margaret and Netty trying to get a Garden Spider to sit still for its photograph

Garden Spider on leaf

Red (and Grey) Fox

Southern Hawker dragonfly in Gunnersbury Triangle, 4 October 2017

Tricholoma knight fungi

We also saw Fly Agaric, Trooping Funnel, Collared Earthstar, and Deceiver.

Armillaria mellea Honey Fungus by rotting Birch logs. The fungus is both parasitic (killing trees) and saprophytic (rotting their wood afterwards).

Natural History

Autumn coming to Wraysbury Lakes

Hips Haws Berries – autumn is definitely on the way now

Himalayan Balsam (Policeman’s Helmet) – either a delight or a scourge, depending on point of view, but still, an elegant plant

Alfalfa – the king of forage plants, which is what its name means in Arabic (apparently)

Southern Hawker, a magnificent dragonfly of late summer and autumn. Banded Demoiselles and Common Blue Damselflies were still flying, too

Red Admiral, basking on the Wraysbury brambles