+9.5.14+82CR+DSCN2362.JPG) |
| Hygropsyche pellucidula (male) |
George
Southern Marsh Orchids
Saturday, 10 May 2014
Garden Caddisflies
This year I've started to look at Caddisflies for the first time, using the excellent RES Handbook (Barnard & Ross 2012). So far I've only looked at those caught in my garden moth trap, which until yesterday comprised just the odd individual. Last night was better though, with 4 species trapped, these being: Limnephilus auricula, Rhyacionia dorsalis, Agapetus ochripes and this Hygropsyche pellucidula. The first of these breeds in pools and ditches, but the other three all occur in streams and rivers and may well have originated in the River Taff, which at its closest point flows just 400m from my garden.
My garden list now stands at a whopping 6 species. Many of the caddis need microscopic examination of their naughty bits to confirm identification, but the nice thing is that the genitalia are largely external and so can be viewed directly without having to resort to nasty skin-dissolving chemicals to make the features visible (as is the case with micro-moths).
George
George
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I get the first thee of these species in my trap - presumably from Llanishen Brook. I've not had that Hygropsyche though, so perhaps they prefer rivers to streams!
ReplyDeleteI like the spiral banding on the antennae of Hydropsyche (sorry I spelled it Hygropsyche in the original post), just visible in the photo. It will be interesting to see how our lists compare once I've done a full year of Caddis ID.
ReplyDeleteSorry to break into the Tricoptera conversation, knowing nothing about how blogging works, but had worker Tree Bumblebee on aquilegia in garden yesterday and today visiting Echium pininana regularly. Would post pics if I knew how...
ReplyDeleteNigel, Anyone can comment on posts, but you need to be added to the author list to create a new topic.
DeleteHi Nigel, As Dave says it is easy to add you as an author, I just need your email address. Once we've done that adding posts is pretty straightforward too!
ReplyDelete