Insects seen today were: Large Red Damselfly (1 male), Common Blue Damselfly (c5 males), Blue -tailed Damselfly (1 male, the first Linacre record of 2020), Broad-bodied Chaser (1 female, my first Linacre record since 2014!), Swollen-thighed Beetle, Red and Black Froghopper, Cinnabar Moth (1), Silver Y moth (1), Silver-ground Moth (1), a long-horned moth, Nemophora degeerella, bees including Tree, Red-tailed and Common Carder, and a couple of yet-to-be identified micro moths.
Broad-bodied Chaser
The new species was Britain's largest species of Crane fly, Tipula maxima. It was very big indeed! Apparently, it can have a leg span of up to 100mm.
Tipula maxima
Have you seen a Garganey at Linacre recently? I saw a smallish female duck at the top end of the middle reservoir, which had 15 ducklings that were feeding by up-ending to catch midges flying above, and a look at my RSPB book led me to think it might be a Garganey.
ReplyDeleteI'm a complete novice at this, so it's just a guess really. All I know is that it wasn't a Mallard.
Hello. No, I've never recorded Garganey at Linacre. The bird you saw was possibly a female Mandarin Duck, which is an annual breeder at Linacre. They also have quite large broods. Thanks for your record.
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