3 Of - 3

Flip Side Of An Oak Leaf

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Silk Button Spangle Galls

Caused by a Gall wasp

'Neuroterus numismalis'

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The gall wasp has 2 generations per year. One being sexual and the other agamic (all female, and needs no male to reproduce). The sexual generation causes Blister galls on oak leaves. Whereas the agamic generation causes Silk button galls on the underside of oak leaves. The agamic generation was previously named N. vesicator before it was realized to be two generations of the same species.

Walk Around Matley 4

The patches of Himalayan Balsam were certainly attracting attention from Wasps and Bees I think this is a Wasp... and not a bee... whatever it is, it was very busy and visited lots of the flowers which give me the chance to get these shots. More views around Matley tomorrow.

Drone or Hover Fly

I'm not 100% on this

It's either a Drone or a Hover

And seeing as it's Sunday.... who cares... :O)

Have a nice day

Comma In Our Garden

Comma Butterfly

Polygonia c-album

The 'Comma' butterfly is one of our more attractive species. This is the first time in over 25 years that I have seen it in my garden. I like this butterfly for two reasons..... its shape and its colour.

When basking in the sun it spreads its wings to reveals a beautiful combination of brown and orange, the markings are similar to our Fritillary butterfles. If you take a good look at the wings you will see the edges have an intricate outline.

This wing design is a great bit of deception and camouflage. As when the wings are closed the butterfly looks just like a dead leaf.

The butterfly has a flexible life cycle, which allows it to take advantage of our weather conditions. It is widespread in southern England and is expanding northwards which is proberly why this is the first time I've had one in the garden.

The most widely used foodplant is Common Nettles Hop, elms, currants, and willows. It has two generations a year and will overwinter as an adult.. and why is it called a Comma?

Look closely at the butterfly’s under wing and you will see the comma-shaped white mark in the centre of its hind wing which is the reason for its common name.

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Linda, you asked about Mottram Old Hall and what I knew of it... can you send me an email... or give me a while to visit it and get some pictures... I know little about the place apart from Mottran show is held there. I do however have a couple of books in PDF format I could send you or a link or two for you to download them from.

Green Shield Bug

Green Shield Bug

(Palomena prasina)

The name shield bug is due to the shield shape of the adult insects when seen from above.

Often mistaken for beetles, shield bugs belong to a different group of insects, the Hemiptera. They feed by sucking sap from a wide range of plants but generally cause no noticeable damage to cultivated plants, even when numerous.

In the last few years I've been noticing more and more of these little bugs, and it seems to have become more abundant and widespread in the UK as a whole. This one landed on the outside table and seemed happy to sit on my finger and swop stares.... ain't it cute.. ;O)

Reddish Vale 8

Banded Denoiselle
Calopteryx splendens

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Wingspan approximately 60mms, It can be seen flying around May to the end of August It feeds off other insects, which are caught while flying. Found around slow flowing rivers, streams, canals and the mill ponds here at Reddish Vale. This is the largest of our damselflies and these are the firsts ones I've managed to capture with my camera... these are infact 3 different ones and are just 3 of many I saw on the morning I visited the Vale. Early morning is the best time to catch them sitting still, as soon as the sun gets up and warms them they are off.

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The males have these dark coloured patches on their wings. These are used in a fluttering dance to attract females. Their bodies are an iridescent blue/green colour.

The females do not have the tinted dark patches on their wings, and their bodies are an iridescent pale green colour. Alas I did not see one of them. The banks of the pond and river had plenty of males about but not a single female was about that I could see.

Grey Heron

The largest European heron. It can stand with neck stretched out, looking for food, or hunch down with its neck bent over its chest. In flight it holds its neck retracted and has large rounded wings. This looks like a youngster to me, it was very tatty looking...

I came across this story last week and thought others who read this blog might find this of interest. Heron Eating A Rabbit

A rare sighting of late on this blog... this is thee Green Backed, Yellow Brested, Blue Legged, Wifelet... other wise know as Jane.

We enjoyed a peaceful walk around the vale last week and took bread to feed the water fowl.. these ducks got the lions share. More from here again tomorrow, I hope you have enjoyed the views and wildlife.