Jeff Clarke Ecology

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Snakes n Adders

Snakes n Adders

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All images unless otherwise stated © Jeff Clarke 2011

I spent an exceptionally warm February day (15 degrees celsius),  so warm I ended up in just a T shirt, surveying a special site in
Cheshire. I was in search of 16-spot Ladybird Tytthaspis 16-punctata, I failed to find it, but I wasn't disappointed as I had a
remarkably productive day. Within minutes of starting my survey I found a basking queen Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris, my first
of the year, she was still dozy, so I took a few pictures which gave a really good view of the trio of ocelli (simple eyes) on top of
her head. Hoverflies were also on the move and I was a little surprised to find Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus among them, as it
is normally thought to be a migrant in this part of the UK.

Birch Catkin Bugs Kleidocerys resedae were literally everywhere and I was just photographing them when the year's first Brimstone
butterfly Gonepteryx rhamni fluttered from cover and starting soaking up the heat from the sun. It was soon flitting across the
mossland, the first of many over the next hour or two.

I had to tread carefully as I swept the mossland because I didn't want to disturb any basking snakes or lizards, though I suspect the
vibrations from my sweep net would have sent them packing long before I got near. Certainly the Woodcock Scolopax rusticola I put
upsensed my approach. Whilst taking a short coffee break I noticed dozens of 7-spot Ladybirds Coccinella 7-punctata starting to
emerge from cover. Within minutes everywhere I looked I was finding more and more. This was clearly emergence day.

After lunch I joined a fellow ecologist and spent a couple of hours with him as we inspected the survey plot sites for reptiles.
A young Smooth Newt Lissotriton vulgaris on a path momentarily masqueraded as a lizard, but we had all but given up when Rob
indicated he'd spotted one of our targets. There slipping quickly from view was a male Adder Vipera berus. The earliest ever
recorded from the site.

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