Descriptions of the Insects and Spiders on Stanpit Marsh

 

On this page we describe interesting facts about the insect and spiders found on Stanpit Marsh. All photographs are by members of FOSM. It is an ongoing project and you can become involved. If you have photographed any insects or spiders on Stanpit Marsh send it in for display here.
Send your Stanpit Marsh insect or spider photo
You can also send text about the insect or spider or leave it to us

Click on the picture to enlarge it. Click on the back arrow top left to return.

We also have a page on:
Plants on Stanpit Marsh
Mammals on Stanpit Marsh
Birds seen on Stanpit Marsh
Aquatic Animals on Stanpit Marsh
Reptiles and Amphibians on Stanpit Marsh

 

This page of Insects and Spiders is sub-divided as follows:

- Bees and Wasps
- Beetles and Bugs
- Butterflies, Moths and Caterpillars
- Crickets and Grasshoppers
- Dragonflies and Damselflies
- Flies
- Molluscs
- Spiders and Mites

 

Bees and Wasps

 

Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)

Recognised by its thin coat and rather scruffy appearance.
A common, sociable bee, living in colonies.
It feeds on nectar, and produces a small amount on honey for feeding in bad weather.
It nests underground or in grassy tufts. New queens are produced in late summer/autumn and out of the whole colony only these bees survive the winter – forming a new colony in the spring.

 

Buff-tailed Bumble bee (Bombus audax)

This was photographed at nest entrance in turf of North Scrubs.
They nest deep in the ground, sometimes as deep as 1 metre; they also sometimes take over empty mouse or mole holes. The nest is lined with dry grass and moss.

 

 

 

Cardinal beetle (--)

 

 

 

 

Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)

Colour       Chestnut brown to very dark brown
Food          Nymphs feed on docks & related plants
                   Adults feed on fruits & seeds
Habitat     Hedgerows & anywhere with dense vegetation
                  Likes sun-bathing!
Winter      Hibernates as adult

 

 

 

Dock leaf beetle (--)

 

 

 

 

 

 

7-Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)

 Colour       Red with 7 black spots (Incl. Both wings)
 Food          Mainly aphids (Greenfly)
 Habitat      Anywhere.  Sometimes migrates in vast numbers
 Winter       Hibernates as adult

 

 

14-Spot Ladybird (Propylea 14-punctata)  

 Colour       Yellow with 14 black spots – sometimes fused
 Food          Mainly aphids (Greenfly)
 Habitat      Anywhere, with trees & shrubs
 Winter      Hibernates as adult

 

 

 

 

22-Spot Ladybird (Psyllobora 22-punctata)

Colour        Yellow with 22 black spots
Food           Mildew
Habitat      Grassy places with shrubs
Winter       Hibernates as adult

 

 

 

 

22-Spot Ladybird (Psyllobora 22-punctata)

Another view of this beautiful ladybird

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gorse Shield Bug (Piezodorus lituratus)

This is near adult. The young are more reddish especially on the wings.
It hibernates during the winter – re-emerging as fully adult.
It is often found on gorse – but also feeds on several other plants.

 

 

 

Green Birch Shieldbug (Elasmostethus interstinctus)

This is a 5th instar – probably the last skin-change before becoming adult. The adult is slimmer and has bronze wings.
As it’s name suggests, it feeds on cones and foliage of birch, but also alder.

 

 

 

Butterflies, Moths and Caterpillars

 

Skipper butterfly (Thymelicus flavus)

This is a Small Skipper, taken in Ashtree meadow.

In flight                          -     Late June – August
Where on marsh           -     Scrub areas
Caterpillar stage           -     August – June
Food plant                    -     Soft grasses – Yorkshire fog, Cat’s tail, & Wood False Brome
Overwinters as             -     Newly hatched caterpillar

 

 

• Essex Skipper butterfly

  Essex Skipper butterfly (Thymelicus lineola)

  This is an Essex Skipper - an unusual species on the Marsh.

  In flight                           -    July – August
  Where on the marsh      -    Scrub areas
  Caterpillar stage            -    April – July
  Food plant                     -    Grasses – including Couch, Cat’s tail, & Brome
  Overwinters as              -    Egg

  The Essex butterfly is extremely similar to Small Skipper – except darker underside of antennae tip, and less-obvious scent mark on forewing of male

   

  Gatekeeper

  Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)

  In flight                            -   July – September
  Where on the marsh       -   Scrub areas, esp. bramble
  Caterpillar stage             -    August – June
  Food plant                      -    Grasses – including Meadow & Couch Grass
  Overwinters as               -    Caterpillar
  

 

 

 

• Knotgrass Moth caterpillar

  Knotgrass Moth caterpillar

Widely distributed in British Isles, less in Scotland.
Feeds on Dock, Plantain and Bramble.  Overwinters as a pupa.
Moths – mottled grey and black, curved white mark on edge of forewing, 40 mm wingspan.
Fly between July and August, 2nd brood August and Sept.  Found in the Scrub.

 

 

Crickets and Grasshoppers


All grasshoppers and crickets over-winter in egg form.
Depending on the species, nymphs and adults can be seen between June/July – October/November.
Nymphs have several moults – known as instars – before reaching adulthood. 
This can make identification difficult.

Crickets can be distinguished from grasshoppers by their long antenna.

Measurements given are from front of head to tip of abdomen.

 

Cricket

Cricket




 

 

 

 

 

 

Speckled Bush Cricket

Speckled Bush Cricket (Leptophyes punctatissima)

Size 10 – 20 mm
July - September
Likes dense vegetation, especially nettles.
Virtually wingless - crawls through the undergrowth.
Food – vegetation and small insects.




 

 

Speckled Bush Cricket

Speckled Bush Cricket

another view

 

 

 

 

 

Speckled Bush Cricket - young one

Speckled bush-cricket 

another view  - a young one

 

 

 

 

 

Dark Bush Cricket

Dark Bush Cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera)

Size 12 – 20 mm
July – October
Likes rough vegetation – sometimes seen in gardens.
Females are wingless.  Males have very short wing parts.
They crawl through the undergrowth, and are very shy.
Food – vegetation, small insects and flowers (pollen & nectar).

 

 

Great Green bush-cricket

Great Green bush-cricket  (Tettigonia viridissima)

Size 40 – 55 mm
July – October
Habitat – rough vegetation.
The largest of British bush-crickets.
Food – vegetation, small insects, caterpillars and also grasshoppers.




 

 

 

Field Grasshopper

Field grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus)

Size 15 – 25 mm
June - October
Probably most common of the grasshoppers.
Habitat – dry grassland.
Food – grass and other vegetation.




 

 

Meadow Grasshopper

Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus)

The most common of grasshoppers. Both sexes have short wings.
Most grasshoppers shed their skin 4 times before reaching adulthood in late May or June.
Their eggs are laid batches of 15 or so in pods in soft soil, and hatch in early spring.
It feeds on plants, but mainly thin grasses.
Note Grasshoppers are extremely difficult to identify and a number of body factors have to be studied carefully.


 

 

Dragonflies and Damselflies





• Common Darter

  Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)

This is a Common Darter by the Purewell Stream both taken this early August 2008,

 

 

Flies


 



Hover Fly (Scaeva pyrastri)                  

Harmless 
Size 15 mm         
In flight – May – November
Adults feed on nectar / Larvae feed on aphids
In some years numbers are increased by an influx of migrants

 

 



Hover Fly   (Volucella pellucens)

Harmless
Size 15 mm
In flight – May – September
Adults feed on nectar
Eggs are laid in wasps nests, and the larvae scavenge within the nest
These flies are often seen hovering, and frequent flowers, especially bramble and umbellifers

 

 

 

 



Ichneumon Fly (Pimpla hypochondriacm)


Ichneumon flies are parasitic flies. 
Eggs are laid in grubs – mainly those of butterflies and moths, and this particular species actually lays its eggs in pupae too.
They paralyse the prey first before depositing the egg
The ichneumon larvae consume the food that the stricken grub eats, and leave the critical internal organs until it is ready to pupate.

 

 

 

Molluscs ( eg sandhoppers)


send in your photo

 

 

Spiders and Mites

 




• Crab Spider

  Crab Spider (Misumena vatia)

Crab spiders make up the Thomisidae family of the Araneae order. They are called crab spiders because they resemble crabs, with two front pairs of legs angled outward and bodies that are flattened and often angular. Also, like crabs, Thomisidae can move sideways or backwards. They are very maneuverable in tight places.
Crab spiders do not build webs to trap prey. They are hunters and ambushers. Some species sit on or among flowers, bark, fruit or leaves where they grab visiting insects. Misumena vatia is one of these. The female can change its colour between white and yellow to match the flower it sits on. Males are small and brown. Crab spiders use their powerful front legs to grab and hold onto prey while paralyzing it with a venomous bite. it is not poisonous to humans. They are found in Europe and North America and other parts of the world.

 

Below is a close-up of the crab spider.



 

 

• Nursery Spider

  Nursery Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)

  This is a fairly large spider and can be seen in most habitats &ndash; including marshy areas!<br />
  It can be seen carrying an egg sac underneath its body, prior to building a web structure over vegetation as a nursery for the spiderlings.<br />
  It does not build a web to catch prey, but is a ground hunter.
  

   

   

  • Garden Spider - Spiderlings

    Spiderlings of the Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus)

  The most common of British spiders – found in gardens as well as the countryside.
  The spiderlings hatch within the nest web and resemble the adults in colouring. They stay together for a few days before dispersing.
  The young are able to construct a web – orb-shaped – within a couple of months, but do not grow to full size until very late summer.
  
  

   

  • Labyrinth Spider

    Labyrinth Spider (Agelena labyrinthica)

  This spider is known as a funnel web spider and spins its web in low vegetation and bushes.  The web is of a large volume with a tubular retreat open at both ends.  The egg sac is built at a greater height and consists of an inner sac suspended by thin supports in a larger bag.  Both are white.  The female remains on guard in the ‘labyrinth’ and dies there.  It is common and widespread.  Found in North Scrubs. 

   

   

  • Labyrinth Spider

    Labyrinth Spider (Agelena labyrinthica)

  Another view. 

   

   

   

   

   

  Wasp spider

  Wasp spider and egg sac (Argiope bruennichi)

  Although an introduced species (by accident during the 60’s) it is fairly common now all along the south coast.
  It is completely harmless to humans, despite it’s wasp-like colouring.
  It builds a strong orb web, with a distinct zig zag stablimentum through the centre.
  It’s nest is a beautifully constructed pot-shape, and the offspring spend the winter in this pot mainly in the egg form – emerging as spiderlings in early spring.
  They are ground feeders until reaching adulthood in August when their webs are visible.




Stanpit Marsh

 

 

 

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