The recent warm sunny weather brought out the insects, and in Rainham Riverside I found a Larch Ladybird, the Lygaeid bug Oxycarenus modestus, dozens of Mottled Shieldbugs, and over ten 2-Spot Ladybirds. #Ladybirds #Lygaeidae #Shieldbugs
Arocatus longiceps from a Plane Tree
Rhyparochromus vulgaris
Raglius alboacuminatus
Once again checking under the bark of plane trees, I found Arocatus longiceps, Rhyparochromus vulgaris and Raglius alboacuminatus, plus some ladybirds (bus 103 from Rainham to Romford, Essex, get off whenever spotting a Plane Tree). #Lygaeidae
Checking under the peeling bark of a Plane tree in Belhus Woods Country Park, SE Essex, today, I found Arocatus longiceps, Cardiastethus fasciiventris and Deraeocoris lutescens passing the winter under cover.
A 7-Spot and a Harlequin Ladybird huddled together in freezing temperatures in SE Essex today.
My last finds for 2025. A group of Firebugs Pyrrhocoris apterus on the trunk of a lime tree in SE Essex today.
A few finds from sieving leaf litter today. A 10 Spot Ladybird, a Brassica Shieldbug and some 16 Spot Ladybirds. I also found some groundbugs that are waiting for identification.
Dolycoris baccarum, with pale tip to scutellum, banded connexivum, and black and white antennae
Periballus strictus, with pale tip to scutellum, banded connexivum, but obviously orange antennal segments 1 and 2
By checking the antennal colours of the Hairy Shieldbugs Dolycoris baccarum I found at RSPB Rainham Marshes yesterday, I found a Vernal Shieldbug Peribalus strictus. The former has black and white banded antennae, while the latter has obvious orange on antennal segments 1 and 2.
No, both British
The tiny black ladybird Stethorus pusillus
Underside of Stethorus pusillus showing pale legs
The Scarce 7-Spot Ladybird; spots are larger than in the common 7-Spot
Underside of Scarce 7-Spot showing 2 pairs of pale "armpits"
I found some super ladybirds recently; the tiny Dot Ladybird Stethorus pusillus from Belhus Woods Country Park TQ5682 on the 16th September, and the Scarce 7-Spot Coccinella magnifica from Little Haven TQ8189 on the 19th.
Arocatus roeselii
Oxycarenus modestus
Two Lygaeid bugs, Arocatus roeselii and Oxycarenus modestus, tapped from Alder in Alphamstone, Essex TL8835 yesterday. Relatively recent arrivals from the continent.
Lots in south Essex.
Had an amazing day with some amazingly knowledgeable people on my first #EssexFieldClub outing lovely to meet @stuttonsparrows.bsky.social & especially @yvonnecouch.bsky.social who was very kind to me & gave me 16 spot & Angle-spotted ladybird life ✅ plus lots of other knowledge & great location
A colleague found this tiny lacebug, Acalypta parvula, in moss during an Essex Field Club trip to Danbury Common, Essex, on 9 August, and passed it to me to identify and record. TL7803.
A round, flat, hairy larva on a green background. An unusual shape for a ladybird larva.
An orange pupa on a green background. The shed larval slin can be seen on the left.
An oval ladybird with 4 orange spots, and orange patch each side of the pronotum; on a green background.
The Ant Nest Ladybird Platynaspis luteolubra larva I swept in Essex on 5th July has since pupated and hatched.
fabulously odd
A Platynaspis luteolubra (Ant nest Ladybird) larva I swept in Essex on Saturday.
While in Kent I went to Dungeness to look for Geotomus petiti. I found one which I think has been dead a while and has lost most of its hairs. I also found a bonus Odonotoscelis lineola and Arencoris falleni. TR067199. All will be iRecorded.
I went to Samphire Ho on 22 June to look for Coptosoma scutellatum and was lucky enough to find one, swept from Restharrow and other vetches, TR29073907.
Rare Forester moth spotted for first time in 50 years..
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
A couple of lovely nymphs from Tyler's Wood in Essex on 22 May: Grypocoris stysi (its everywhere at the moment) and Deraeocoris olivaceous.
I got mine today, it really is fantastic, so many clear photos and species comparisons, it is a Must Have.
Some beetles from the last couple of days: Dendroxena quadrimaculata from Belhus Woods Country Park, and Phytoecia cylindrica from RSPB Rainham Marshes.
Thanks
I'm looking for a good macro camera I can put in my pocket. Does it have image stabilization? (Shaky hands).
Some finds from Belhus Woods Country Park this week: the flatbug Aradus depressus, and the Orange and Cream-spot Ladybirds.
Two small red and black bugs on tree bark.
A tight cluster of tiny bugs on tree bark.
A large cluster of tiny bugs on tree bark.
A lime tree beside a wide road with grassy field to one side.
Staggering numbers of Lime Seed Bug (Oxycarenus lavaterae) seen clustered on a single lime tree in Shoeburyness, Essex today. Another newly arrived continental species. TQ92838660. Thanks to yvonnecouch.bsky.social for previous post. Reminded me of mussels clinging to rocks.
Three small red and black bugs on tree bark
A red teneral bug on a tree trunk
A reddish brown nymph of a bug on yellow lichen.
A tight cluster of tiny nymphs on a tree trunk.
More photos of the Lime Seed Bugs (Oxycarenus lavaeterae) in Shoeburyness, Essex, including a teneral adult and a nymph. #UKBugs #EssexWildlife
Great photos
On 6 March Jon Leysell found Oxycarenus lavaterae in Lime Trees in Shoeburyness, Essex TQ92838660 (the 3rd UK and 1st Essex record). I took these photos on 8 March.
I tapped this Oxycarenus modestus from alder at RSPB Rainham Marshes, Essex, on 28 February.
