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Common froghopper Philaenus spumarius insectseasy to find Being able to jump up to 70cm vertically, if a flea and Skylarks Nature Reserve froghopper were to enter a jumping competition, the froghopper would take the gold medal. A 5mm long solid looking little bug, shaped a little like a Brazil nut, which come in a variety of colours and patterns, some all black, others tawny brown with fawn spots zone or dark mahogany with olive dapples. 1, 2, 4, 6 ©Sean Browne ©Sean More familiar though is the white InFind summer me inside bubbly lather known as cuckoo spit, found globs of white slippery blobbed on grass stems, this froth is foam, on various plant and all where young froghoppers, known as grass stems in meadows zones nymphs, hide from predators, this and woodland edges. foam also acts as insulation against both heat and the cold. ©Mike Vickers Cinnabar moth Tyria jacobaeae Bursts of short fluttering flight, the vivid scarlet underwings clashing against the luscious summer Brown hawker dragonfly foliage, once it has landed, with wings folded, we find Aeshna grandis a coal black moth resplendent with intense red stripes A large dragonfly found fizzing around reed beds and along the forewing accompanied by twin red spots. woodland clearings, hunting for other flying insects Easier to find is the caterpillar of this moth, candy like and explosively attacking any trespassers who stray with bold yellow and black bands running its full length. into a taken territory. With gleaming bronze wings These colours are and a body the deep rusty colour of oxidised steel, zone and diagonal yellow nature’s way of 2 Find me warning predators slashes across the thorax Flying from May to August beneath each wing. FomFind July me to October, hawking close to ragwort, a plant that that it is foul tasting and poisonous. Males can be identified up and down woodland rides grows up to 2m high topped by azure dots located at and pond edges, often pausing with clusters of mustard yellow the base of each wing. from my effervescent flight to flowers, the stems beneath the briefly glide. flowers are where you will find ©Michael Walker the caterpillar from July to September. zone 1 Common red soldier beetle Rhagonycha fulva Posing no threat to humans, the inaccurate ©Al Greer alternative name ‘bloodsucker beetle’ refers insectshard to find to its waxy cardinal colouration, rather Skylarks Nature Reserve than any fictitious eating habits. The tips of the soft wing casing, the ends of each leg and the long curved antenna, are all dipped in black, making this a very striking and recognisable beetle. InFind summer me mating and feeding on pollen and aphids on the open heads of flowers zone such as cow parsley and 1 ragwort. zone 1, 3, 6, 7 Meadow grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus Common stretch spider Tetragnatha extensa The word ‘stretch’ perfectly describes the physical nature of this curious and immaculate spider, its front and back legs noticeably longer than the other four, the body, roughly 10mm long with a barley seed shaped abdomen, ranges in colour from a creamy lime to a straw brown hue, Looking both sinuous and mechanical, a waxy contrasting against a dark burnt chocolate central lime green with a pale straw brown stripe stripe. When threatened, the stretch spider really running the length of its back beginning ©Margaret Holland embraces its name by thrusting its front four legs above the eyes and antenna. Its wedge forward and the rear four backwards, becoming shaped body, with long muscular back legs perfectly camouflaged as a blade of grass or the Binns ©Les always looks poised to spring at the first sign vein along the centre of a leaf. of danger. Through the summer months the male grasshoppers will sing to attract Find me females, this is achieved using tooth like On hot summer days where grassy Between May andFind September me structures along the inside of the back verges and meadows fizzle and hiss snaring insects in webs spun legs being rubbed across a hard vein on with the sound of males singing. between reeds and low lying the forewings. Running a fingernail along Wander through these places and pond vegetation. a comb creates a very good imitation of grasshoppers will spring up in a this sound. tiddly wink fashion. Favouring the shallow edges of ponds and lakes, where fallen dead leaves litter the bottom providing perfect cover for this super stealthy aquatic predator, superbly ainsects real find resembling a muddy brown dead leaf, and bearing more Skylarks Nature Reserve than a passing resemblance to a scorpion (it is in fact in no way related). This aquatic insect wields what appears to be a sting in the tale, but is actually two half lengths of a tube zone that, utilising fine hairs, can be zipped together to create 1, 3, 5, 7 a snorkel like breathing tube. This tube, pierces the water surface to provide a constant air supply whilst it lurks amongst All year round aboveFind and belowme plants, sinisterly waiting, zone water crawling amongst pond pincers agape, then 1, 2 plants or over mud, or in winter with lightning speed refreshing oxygen supplies by snatching any passing visiting air bubbles trapped small fish or tadpoles. under the surface ice of a pond. Water scorpion Nepa cinerea ©Margaret Holland ©Margaret Every time, without fail, one of these delicate Elephant hawk moth jewels flutters across your path, it simply takes Deilephila elpenor your breath away. A large damselfly, reaching Banded damoiselle over 5cm in length, the male is a sublime metallic Calopteryx splendens Medium sized with a wing span of blue with clear wings daubed with a large 4.5 – 6cm, its chunky fur covered body iridescent Prussian blue band towards the tips. and arrow flight wings are exquisitely The female is equally spectacular, a lustrous illustrated with khaki olive and emerald green with wings that shimmer with hot pink washes and stripes. The a pale jade sparkle. caterpillar is tan brown to army green Males are extremely in colour and grows up to territorial and often FlitteringFind me with a gambling 7.5cm long with striking eye engage in the pursuit docile flight along streams spot markings close to the FromFind May me to July flying of one another, and and gentle flowing water head. When threatened the around honeysuckle to sometimes many can lined with lush vegetation. eye spot area can swell up feed on nectar or as a be seen absorbed When mating, the male and along with a rearing caterpillar feeding, or in this chase over and female join flying in up action gives the overall resting, on the stems dominion. tandem to form a classic appearance of a snake ready of rosebay willow- heart shape. to strike, a defence which herb between July and puts off all but the most September. zone determined of predators. 2, 4, 7 ©Tim Sexton.

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