20/04/20 - Garden wildlife

With the warm weather appearing, so too are our butterflies – spotting the first Brimstone or Orange Tip of the year can bring a moment of joy and help lift spirits. If you’re lucky enough to have a garden you may have a chance of seeing one, if not keep an eye out whilst out on your daily walk/exercise if you’re in an area where their food plant can be found.

Brimstones are one of the most delightful species to see, and it is thought that the word butterfly originates from the yellow ‘butter’ colour of the males. In comparison, the wings of the female are pale green, and can sometimes almost appear white, meaning that they can occasionally be overlooked amongst the larger white species. Brimstones are one of the earliest species seen on the wing, often coming out during warm sunny days from early March where the caterpillar’s food plant. The individual pictured below was photographed at the NNR Base ‘nectaring’ on the Lavender in our wildlife garden.

Over the last few weeks whilst staying at home, you may have come across one of these individuals in your garden and thought to yourself is it a bee? Or maybe a fly? It is in fact a Bee-fly. Despite their appearance, with large eyes and a long proboscis, they are perfectly harmless and will be more interested in looking for nectar sources than bothering you.

Bee-flies are actually a member of the fly family but are bee ‘mimics’, and are quite easy to spot with their dangly legs and darting flight - a bit like a mini Hummingbird moving from flower to flower in search of nectar, it's also worth listening out for their high-pitched buzzing sound. Upon finding a suitable flower they will use their long proboscis to drink the nectar, before continuing their search, sunny spots in gardens and hedgerows are a good place to look for them basking and feeding. Although we are not able to get out and about on the reserves at the moment, this is one species that you might be lucky enough to come across in your garden or local area.

The first Red-and-black Froghoppers of the year are also likely to be out and about now on warmer days, and with the warm weather set to continue, there may be one brightening up a nettle patch near you. With their vibrant colours they really are unmistakeable, and can be found between April and August in a range of habitats including: grasslands, meadows, gardens and woodland. The adults (which can fly and also have the ability to jump up to 70cm with powerful back legs – hence the name ‘froghopper’), largely feed by sucking juices from grasses, but also from other plants which the nymphs feed on underground on plant roots. Next time you are out in your garden or on your daily walk/exercise, scan the vegetation and you might be lucky enough to spot one.