Yesterday morning I took a walk up the Taff trail to Pont-y-Gwaith bridge and back (Yes, I know Pont is Welsh for bridge so don't really need to repeat it in the name). Birdlife was quite quiet, though a Kingfisher flashed past several times. At the bridge I watched the Elms for a while in the forelone hope that there might be a late White-letter Hairsteak still on the wing. Unfortunately the only butterfly on show was Speckled Wood.
My attention, however, was drawn to numerous Cadisflies "hunting" over the leaves. On closer inspection these proved to be quite distinctive, rather reminiscent on a "devil" profile. Luckily they were also easy to identify as Mystacides azurea.
I was hoping for a bit of a mushroom fest, but they proved to be rather thin on the ground. The best were several Chanterelle's - all a bit munched.
Mystacides azurea, Typical ventral view, showing red eyes, dark cape and the black "horns". On closer inspection the "horns" are enlarged pedipalps which the males were sweeping across the leaf surface, presumably search for the females scent (as below)
The best of what was left of the Chanterelle's.
For today's jaunt, the original plan was a trip to Whiteford sands on the Gower, but late new of a probable Icky Warb at Peterstone Great Wharf, saw my self and Phil go for an early morning dip. 5 fly over Yellow Wagtails and a fly by Whimbrel were about the best we could manage, and just as we were leaving two Sparrowhawks flew into a nearby tree - a male and a female. Both were juvenile birds, so presumably siblings.
On returning home, it was just a little too late to head down to the Gower as the traffic would have been building up so I decided to wander round Craig Evan Layshon Common for the first time in a few years. Bird wise the highlight was a pair of Wheatear and a pair of Kestrels. I managed to connect with Heather Collete's bees, but strangely the only one's I could find were in the old quarry, with none on the heather elsewhere.I did managed to pick up a couple of new spiders, the common ground spider Drassodes cupreus and the rather smartly marked Steatoda phalerata, and a new leaf beetle, Sermylassa halensis.
Drassodes cupreus
Steatoda phalerata
Sermylassa halensis
My attention, however, was drawn to numerous Cadisflies "hunting" over the leaves. On closer inspection these proved to be quite distinctive, rather reminiscent on a "devil" profile. Luckily they were also easy to identify as Mystacides azurea.
I was hoping for a bit of a mushroom fest, but they proved to be rather thin on the ground. The best were several Chanterelle's - all a bit munched.
For today's jaunt, the original plan was a trip to Whiteford sands on the Gower, but late new of a probable Icky Warb at Peterstone Great Wharf, saw my self and Phil go for an early morning dip. 5 fly over Yellow Wagtails and a fly by Whimbrel were about the best we could manage, and just as we were leaving two Sparrowhawks flew into a nearby tree - a male and a female. Both were juvenile birds, so presumably siblings.
On returning home, it was just a little too late to head down to the Gower as the traffic would have been building up so I decided to wander round Craig Evan Layshon Common for the first time in a few years. Bird wise the highlight was a pair of Wheatear and a pair of Kestrels. I managed to connect with Heather Collete's bees, but strangely the only one's I could find were in the old quarry, with none on the heather elsewhere.I did managed to pick up a couple of new spiders, the common ground spider Drassodes cupreus and the rather smartly marked Steatoda phalerata, and a new leaf beetle, Sermylassa halensis.
Thanks Martin, you've identified Serylassa halensis as the beetle I saw on the Maerdy mountain on Saturday. I've seen one or two of those Caddis at the moth trap, but they never hung around for me to photograph.
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