Wall Lizard

This will be my last post about my recent holiday in the Isle of Wight (promise!), so I thought I'd finish with a post about a super little lizard that Jayne and I managed to see whilst down on the island.

As the title suggests, the reptile in question is the Wall Lizard, a reptile that is native in Jersey, but one that was released in the UK. Ventnor is a "hotspot" for this species and is found in good numbers in this part of the island, a particular hotspot being the Ventnor Botanical Gardens. More details about Wall Lizards can be found here.

Jayne and I saw our first lizard on our first day in Ventnor, with one sunning itself on a bench along the coastal path just below Ventnor Park.

Wall Lizard (Ventnor Park)

We then had a day in the botanical gardens and saw at least a dozen. The best area in the park for lizards, was the aptly named "arid area", which is in a very sunny spot. We did, however, see them in other areas. Here are a few photos.

Wall Lizard (Ventnor Botanical Gardens)

Isle of Wight Insects

Following on from my first post about the butterflies of the Isle of Wight, I thought I'd better blog about some of the other insects that Jayne and I have spotted this week. We've been pretty lucky with sightings, including a few new ones!

First up, the dragonflies and damselflies. In addition to the Beautiful Demoiselle, we have seen Azure Damselfly (pair ovipositing in a small pond at Osborne House), Common Blue Damselfly (1 male at the Garlic Farm) and Blue-tailed Damselfly (6+, including ovipositing females) at Ventnor Botanical Gardens.

Azure Damselflies

Dragonflies seen are: Emperor (1 male flying around Ventnor Botanical Gardens), Common Darter (1 female in Ventnor Botanical Gardens), and a hawker species, either Migrant or Southern Hawker seen flying around the Botanical Gardens.

Surprisingly, we've also managed to see a few moths. The first one ( a new species for me) was a Brown-Tail that was found on a chair outside a restaurant in Ventnor last Saturday. Also seen in Ventnor during the day was a Magpie. The last three species were seen yesterday evening. Two, Mother of Pearl (new) and Small Magpie were seen near St Boniface Down in Ventnor, whilst the final species, Jersey Tiger (new) was found on the cliff side at Wheelers Bay, just outside Ventnor.

Brown -Tail

Mother of Pearl

Jersey Tiger

I haven't seen too many different hoverflies so far, but I have managed to see a couple of Volucella species; Volucella pellucens (also known as Great Pied Flycatcher) and Volucella zonaria. The first species, V. pellucens is a common species seen regularly in Derbyshire and at Linacre, whilst the second species; V. zonaria, is much less common. It was first reported in Britain in the late 1930's and has not yet, as far as I know, been reported in Derbyshire. It is also the largest and most impressive British hoverfly, growing up to 19mm in length! So far we've seen this species at Ventnor Botanical Gardens and at Osborne House.

Volucella zonaria

The last two species of note are two beetles; Rose Chafer seen at Ventnor Botanical Gardens (thanks Jayne) and an, an interesting beetle called a Bloody-nosed Beetle seen at the Garlic Farm today.

Rose Chafer

Bloody-nosed Beetle