Two late winter/early spring invertebrates

This little crab spider was lurking amongst a bunch of ripening ivy berries. When I disturbed it, the spider quickly disappeared amongst the berries. I posted this picture on Twitter a couple of weeks ago and @ivysuckle kindly identified it for me, as a running crab spider in the genus Philodromus

 There's a shield bug nymph crawling over this lunar landscape of apothecia of the lichen Xanthoria parietina. On Twitter, it was kindly identified for me by @AlanM24217579 as a second instar nymph of the forest bug aka red-legged shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes, apparently the only shieldbug species that overwinters in the nymphal stage.

Bugs at Low Burnhall

Low Burnhall is a Woodland Trust reserve just south of Durham city, with new tree planting to link up fragments of ancient woodland. It will take a while to produce a continuous woodland canopy but in the meantime the existing woodland and large areas of open grassland are home to a wide range of interesting insects species.

Our best find on this visit was this handsome wasp beetle, Clytus arietis, an amazing example of mimicry. It not only looks like a wasp, it moves like a wasp too, with the same jerky walk. No sting, perfectly harmless. Breeds in decaying wood - we found it close to the rotting fallen branches of an old willow.

Our visit coincided with the hatching of scores of five-spot burnet moths.

Unhatched .....

..... and hatched five-spot burnet cocoons

Newly emerged five-spot burnets mating

Possibly the shortest courtship ever - these two five-spot burnets emerged simultaneously from the upper and lower cocoon and mated immediately

There were plenty of newly-emerged ringlet butterflies around. They even fly in light rain.

A very unlucky large skipper, caught by a spider. Maybe the two froghoppers will be luckier when they emerge from their cuckoo spit.

The caterpillar of the Timothy tortrix moth Aphelia paleana, which feeds on a wide range of plants including docks and plantains, as well as Timothy grass. Thanks to Colin Duke for identifying this for me, via the excellent iSpot web site

A capsid bug - I think this is the cock'sfoot bug Leptopterna dolobrata

A sawfly, which I think is a Tenthredo species , feeding on buttercup nectar

Forest shieldbug, Pentatoma rufipes, on an oak leaf.

Kentish snail Monacha cantiana, found inside a curled-up hogweed leaf. Thanks to Martyn John Bishop and Steve Gregory for identifying this for me, also via the excellent iSpot web site

Shieldbug

I found this little forest bug Pentatoma rufipes out for a stroll on a patch of willow herb yesterday.

Here you can see that long proboscis - used for eating plants and for impaling the occasional caterpillar - folded back between the front legs.

I wondered what those inflated purple patches were at the point where the hind leg joins the thorax - until I consulted a few books and realised these are the stink glands that give these insects their alternative name - stink bugs. These secrete a noxious smelling fluid to deter predators...........or in this case the paparazzi.

For some excellent pictures of this insect (and remarkable eggs) - see here.