Wednesday, 14 Oct 2026

I don’t see too many Orange Ladybird on the Downs, but today I found an Orange Ladybird (Halyzia sedecimguttata) pupa on the underside of an Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) leaf. The adult ladybird will surely emerge soon as ladybirds overwinter as adults. Whereas most adult ladybirds feed on aphids, the Orange Lady bird is a fungivore, feeding on powdery mildews.

On another leaf on the same branch was a pupa from which the adult ladybird has already emerged. Beside this empty pupal case there were four tiny (approx. 0.75 mm) fourth instar nymphs (puparia) of the Ash Whitefly (Siphoninus phillyreae), which despite its name belongs to the Hemiptera, and is closely related to froghoppers, aphids and shieldbugs.

On a Goat Willow (Salix caprea) leaf I found one of the soldier fly family Stratiomyidae, a Twin-spot Centurion (Sargus bipunctatus).

I found some old tree stumps covered with tight clusters of Honey Fungus (Armillaria mellea) and in the main grassland area some small agaric mushrooms springing up, for which I can only attempt a very tentative identification. There are some many lookalikes and without any expertise in this area my best guess is that they are Common Conecap (Conocybe tenera).

                                                                                              <<<< Previous page | Next Page >>>>