Another for our Museum of Odd Muslins. The species is still the main guest in my MV trap but the other six in the eggboxes this morning were all standard. I wondered if this had been marked by some encounter, partly because of the squiggle in the third picture which only seems to show on one side, but the spots are very uniform and so far as I can tell from enlarging (which is not very far), are differently coloured scales.
Last night also brought a Lime Hawk, several Treble Lines and the alarming creature below, which I think is Rhyssa persuasoria, the Sabre Wasp or Giant Ichneumon. If so, its habits are too gross to describe on a family blog and prompted Charles Darwin to write: "I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars." See also Alien. Yuk. Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon
Hello Martin,
ReplyDeleteIsn't that simply a Mayfly, a rather less alarming creature? I'd hazard a guess at Ephemera danica but I'm no expert on ephemeroptera!
Hi Dave and thanks very much. I got carried away. Instead of the embodiment of evil, it's one of those poor creatures that get massacred by birds over streams. Thanks for putting me right. All vb M
ReplyDeleteDave is correct with Ephemera danica. In my experience that doesn't often come to light, whereas if you're within reach of the Thames you might get the nationally rare Ephemera lineata later in the year, which is strongly attracted to light.
ReplyDeleteRhyssa is a parasitoid of the woodwasp sawfly, and some people would argue that woodwasp is a pest species that damages trees, so Rhyssa is a beneficial insect. But woodwasp mostly attacks conifers, so perhaps it's woodwasp that is the beneficial species, helping rid us of unwanted aliean trees! Or perhaps we should just enjoy wildlife whatever it's lifestlye! :)