Inverts and plants from Foulshaw Moss

Yesterday we spent virtually the whole day at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria looking at inverts and plants. It was a slow process, and it took us five and a half hours to do two laps of the board walk! We did also visit nearby Meathop Moss for an hour, and some photos are from there as indicated in the text. It's amazing what's around when you look and below is a small selection of what we found (and I managed to photograph!). Thanks to Ray Banks for helping with the identification of many of the species, plus also the Facebook groups UK Hoverflies and Insects of Britain and Northern Europe.

Butterflies and moths

Beautiful yellow underwing

Green-veined white on creeping thistle Cirsium arvense

Large skipper on tufted vetch Vicia cracca

Hoverflies

Helophilus trivittatus

Helophilus trivittatus

Sericomyia silentis

Probably Helophilus hybridus

Probably Eristalis horticola on meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria

Xylota segnis

Volucella pellucens (Great pied hoverfly) on meadowsweet.

Dragonflies and damselflies

Four-spot chaser on purple moorgrass Molinia caerulea
 

 
Azure damselfly 

Black darter. We eventually managed to rescue it with the help of a long stick!

Black darter

Blue-tailed damselfly

Emerald damselfly on purple moorgrass

Large red damselfly.

Flies, bees, scorpionflies and longhorn beetles

Mesembrina meridiana on soft rush Juncus effusus

Tachina grossa possibly on wild angelica Angelica sylvestris (I can't be sure from the photo).

Tachina grossa

As yet unknown

Megachile sp. a leaf cutter bee.

As yet unknown on marsh thistle Cirsium palustre

Four-banded longhorn beetles Leptura quadrifasciata on meadowsweet

Four-banded longhorn on wild angelica

Scorpionfly sp.

Adult and nymph common pond skater Gerris lacustris. This next series of photos including the green tiger beetle were taken in the Goyt Valley in Derbyshire today. They probably also occur on Foulshaw moss, but I can't be sure.

Green tiger beetle Cicindela campestris

Plants
We're now back to the Cumbrian mosses, all photos from Foulshaw moss unless otherwise stated.

Bog asphodel Narthecium ossifragum - Meathop moss

Bog-rosemary  Andromeda polifolia - Meathop moss. I was made up with this, I don't think I've ever seen this plant in flower before.

Cranberry Vaccinium oxycoccos growing in a nice patch of Sphagnum magellenicum.

Round-leaved sundew Drosera rotundifolia

White beak-sedge Rhynchospora alba

Yellow loosestrife Lysimachia vulgaris

Creeping-jenny Lysimachia nummularia

Reptiles

There were loads of common lizards on the boardwalk at Foulshaw moss, including many babies such as this.