Ellen Wilson

@ellenwilson

Love all wildlife and discovering insects, especially sawflies, flies, bugs and beetles plus moths from our garden moth trap; East Lothian she/her; i/ise (🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 tha gàidhlig agam ach tha mi fhathast ag ionnsachadh) 💚 🇪🇺 🇺🇦🇨🇦🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🐝 🐇🪲🪰🦇🍄‍🟫🐌🐦‍⬛🐛

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Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· 17h

Very pleased to find an Old Lady on the wall of the house this evening (just beyond the moth trap!), NFG and beautifully marked #TeamMoth

A very large moth held temporarily inside a small round see through pot viewed by torchlight in front of the leaves of a rose bush with one or two Scabious flowers also visible. The moth’s wings are closed and held up above the abdomen so the brown underside is fully visible side on. The main characteristic of the wing is a thick cream line all along the rear edge of the wing - it’s really pretty

A very large moth held temporarily inside a small round plastic pot viewed by torchlight in front of the leaves of a rose bush and 1-2 Scabious flowers. The moth is seen from above and is dark chocolate brown in colour with creamy lines making various patterns. It’s a beauty!

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· 20h

Just enough gaps in the cloud to enjoy the eclipse during a mass emergence of flying ants (one of which photobombed the main event!)

A photo of the eclipse in its early stages (c. 1/3 covered by the moon) showing most of a glowing golden sun against the dark of the sky but with a flying ant accidentally caught in silhouette against the glow to the top right side of the sun. Photo by JD Wilson.

Probably at around the peak of the eclipse, the sun is emerging from behind the moon and passing clouds are illuminated by its glow. Photo by JD Wilson.

The early stages of lots of flying ants emerging from under a paving slab along our garden path - both winged and unwinded individuals can be seen ‘swarming’ on the ground

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· 11d

New sawfly for the garden just now: lots of Figwort Sawfly larva that seem surprisingly fluorescent by torchlight!

A chunky pale grey caterpillar/larva with fine black spots munching on a Figwort leaf - by torchlight

At least three chunky pale grey larva with fine black spots munching on a Figwort plant whose leaves have lots of holes where the larva have been feeding

One larva whose head and tail are visible through the holes in the leaf it is on the underside of

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· 16d

My first ever Alder Moth caterpillar today, found resting on top of a Salmonberry leaf, a bit of a beauty! #TeamMoth

A black caterpillar curled in the shape of a question mark with a thick bright yellow cross band on each segment and scattered individual black ‘hairs’ each with a thickened end (like a butterfly antenna) protruding from various points along its length. It is resting on a green Salmonberry leaf which fills the background.

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· 25d

Flying Ants emerging in the garden just now, rich pickings for a Chiffchaff that has its nest just a couple of metres away!

Looking down into the root base of a clump of Meadowsweet whose stalks and leaves are all covered in swarming Flying Ants

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· Jul 5

Another nice picture-winged fly, the Spear Thistle Urophora, on a big Spear Thistle near the garden a couple of days ago #Diptera

A small fly resting on the stem of a Spear Thistle a couple of inches below a large unopened thistle bud with a smaller bud and lots of spikey leaves also visible. Its wings are held in a delta shape and three black lines can be seen crossing the outer part of the wing.

A small fly resting on the stem of a Spear Thistle with lots of spikey leaves also visible. Its wings are held closed and the three black lines on each wing are very striking.

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· Jul 4

Something fungal, not quite sure what, on a raspberry leaf today. Has anyone else seen anything like this and know what it could be? #FungiFriends #Fungi

A small white blob just under 1cm in height and width covered in a layer of brown fungi as if brown candy floss had been draped over it. It is on the underside of a wild Raspberry leaf - viewed with the leaf turned over so the top of the ‘blob’ is facing up towards the camera

Picture of the blob taken more at a distance, with the whole Raspberry plant visible above a sea of Woodruff plants growing alongside a wooden fence. The blob is visible as a dark spot on one of the Raspberry leaves

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· Jul 4

A Nettle Picturewing fly from near the garden earlier this afternoon #diptera

Close up pic of a small fly with strong black patters on its wings, metallic green-red eyes and a shiny black abdomen. It is resting on a green Salmonberry leaf just above some nettles - the nettles themselves aren’t visible in the pic.

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· Jun 21

Humming-bird Hawk-moth in the garden this evening #TeamMoth

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· Jun 21

Several fasciated Marsh Thistles up in the hills today, this one with its buds arranged in an impressive Mohican…

The crown of a Marsh Thistle photographed from above. A central line of buds are fused in a straight line that crosses the whole crown

The crown of a Marsh Thistle photographed from the side. A central line of buds are fused in a straight line that stands proud from the rest of the crown of buds so it looks a bit like a purple Mohican

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· Jun 21

Two Peppered Moths that I only just noticed as they are on the underside of a window lintel rather than in the moth trap #TeamMoth

The underside of a roof gutter and window lintel and roof gutter on which two large speckled black and white moths are mating

Close up pic of two large black and white speckled moths resting/mating on a concrete lintel

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· Jun 18

Orange and pink looking good in the garden today - one of a few Painted Ladies passing by in the last week

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· Jun 14

Lordithon lunulatus, a rather pretty rove beetle, resting on a gate just beyond the garden today #TeamBeetle

A close up of a small rove beetle resting on a bar of a wooden gate that is dusted with pale green lichen. The beetle has orange-tipped black antennae, a black head, orange pronotum, black elytra with a triangular pale spot on each one, and a long abdomen whose first four segments are orange, then three that are black then pale/white then black in colour. It is about 5-6mm long.

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· Jun 14

Attelabus nitens, the Oak Leaf-roller (a weevil) below an Oak tree earlier today #teambeetle

A bright, shiny red beetle with black head and legs resting on Green Alkanet (with one blue flower visible in the foreground)

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· Jun 5

Amazing to see a Humming-bird Hawk-moth on North Uist earlier this week! #TeamMoth

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· Jun 5

I’m wondering if this could be Limnia unguicornis, a Stripe-backed Snailkiller, from North Uist earlier today? #diptera

A small brown and grey striped fly with dark wing patterns resting on the ground with some green vegetation, grey rock and peaty soil also visible

A small brown and grey striped fly with dark wing patterns resting on white quartz rock

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· May 25

A Broad-bodied Chaser enjoying evening sunshine just now

A chunky yellowy, greeny, brown dragonfly resting on Green Alkanet in golden evening sunshine

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· May 25

My first Small Copper of the year this morning

A Small Copper butterfly resting on Cow Parsley flowers with its wings open and green vegetation and a hill and some sky behind

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· May 23

A second one for the year just flew at top speed into our porch - now returned back to the garden…

A Two-banded Longhorn beetle on the grey floor of our porch

A Two-banded Longhorn beetle resting on a Hawthorn leaf below a cluster of white Hawthorn flowers

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· May 23

Rhaphium appendiculatum I think, a long-legged fly with the male having very fine antennae, along my local burn today

A mating pair of flies resting on a bracken frond. The male has very long, distinctive antennae

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· May 23

A Two-banded Longhorn beetle, first one of the year today #teambeetle

A dark coloured beetle with two light brown curved marks on each wing case resting on a fence post with a field and some trees and cloudy sky out of focus in the background

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· May 22

One of two Grynobius planus beetles I think resting on a fence post along my walk earlier this evening #TeamBeetle

A small brown beetle resting on the side of an old wooden fence post with green woodland visible but out of focus behind

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· May 17

A new-to-me fly from the no-mow bit of the lawn today, Geomyza tripunctata, a Three-spotted Grass-borer #Diptera

A very small, 3-4 mm long, metallic black fly with three smallish black spots on each wing, walking up a blade of grass with a few other blades of grass and the tip of a Knapweed leaf also visible

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· May 14

A new leaf-mining species for me this week, Orchestes fagi (a Beech leaf-mining weevil) I think - lots of these on Beech leaves in my local woodland just now

Close up view of a green Beech leaf with a big brown blotch towards the tip of the leaf connected by a ‘corridor’ leading back along a leaf vein to the mid rib.

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· May 8

Malthodes marginatus I think, a small but eye-catching soldier beetle that caught my eye earlier today #teambeetle

A small, slim, long brownish beetle with short elytra each ending in a vivid yellow spots, and very long black antennae; it is sitting on the smooth bark of a Sycamore tree among patches of pale green lichen

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· May 5

Having stopped feeding as per the new guidance, the ivy-covered trunk of our garden Hawthorn tree (one of the spots we usually hang a busy feeder) is now a quiet corner and a very industrious Wren is making a nest with lots of beech leaves instead

A dark green ivy-covered tree trunk is standing against a beech hedge that is still covered in ‘orange’ leaves from last autumn. A Wren is perched in the ivy where its nest of beech leaves is rather obvious due to the colour of the leaves contrasting strongly with the dark of the ivy. Some leaves of rhubarb can also be seen.

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· May 2

A pretty-as-a-picture picture-winged fly today, possibly Euphranta toxoneura, a Willow Gall Picturewing I think - which is a lovely find if so #diptera @suillia.bsky.social

A small grey-bodied, orange-headed fly resting on bark with clear wings that have a number of large-ish black spots or blotches, and striking eyes due to two horizontal stripes across each eye (if you zoom in)

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· May 2

A closer view…

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· May 2

Not one of my best photos but definitely one of the best birds, a Redstart singing from the TV aerial just now

A small dot (the Redstart!) on a TV aerial above the top of a chimney stack with blue sky, some clouds and some leafy tree tops in the background

Ellen Wilson@ellenwilson· May 1

I’m wondering if they are M. buccata due to the dark face spots and strongly marked wings (which might show a white cross vein from other angles)? I had M. buccata in my East Lothian porch this week, alas found dead so rather easier for having a close look!