What is Patton's Tiger?

I have been immersed in natural history since I was 18 and started work at the (then) Wildfowl Trust at Arundel. I met, worked and lived with some brilliant naturalists and a lifetime's obsession was born.
Birding was followed by mothing and the height of 'achievement' was obtained when a moth was given the above vernacular name in recognition of the fact that I trapped the first British record.

Thursday 21 April 2011

The first post!

A trip to Frensham Common in Surrey today. Few solitary wasps on the wing, mainly Pompilids (Spider-hunting Wasps) which I don't have keys for. Also flying were some solitary bees, bee-flys, a few butterflies (mainly Brimstones) and a couple of Common Heath moths. Micro-moths included vast numbers of Cydia succedana around the Gorse bushes.
Shepherd's Cress plants were in flower and the red Mossy Stonecrop was everywhere. I had a couple of brief glimpses of Common Lizard and saw the tail end of a snake, which was probably a brown form of Adder, but I like to hope it may have been a Smooth Snake....!
A single bee which was caught and examined in the bee-squasher was identified as Bombus vestalis - a cuckoo bee which is a parasite on bumble bees. It was released safely!
Thyme-leaved Sandwort was added to the Valhalla list.

On to Frensham church to do the Church Micro geocache set there and a fine display of Star-of-Bethlehem in the churchyard.

Finally, at Woolmer Pond, two Natterjacktoads were seen, along with some (unidentified) blue damselflies, an unidentified dragonfly and a fly which remains to be identified!

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