mummified caterpillar ID

[Philzoid]

In urgent need to get out and about and with good weather forcast for the weekend I took off to Wrecclesham with my daughter to get some much needed exercise and to hopefully see Glanville fritillary larvae. If my memory serves me correctly I've read they can be seen basking on their foodplant on warm days from March onwards .
On entering the compound (the wire fence has been re-built and there is a trench to negotiate) Francesca spotted a caterpillar on a blade of grass . Unfortunately this was a mere shell of a caterpillar , not hairy, but furry from a layer of fungus. The deceased insect was about 2cm in length and there was no exit hole(s) to indicate how it might've died. I think many tropical species are attacked by pathogenic fungi but I'm not sure we have these type of pathogens here

Not much to go on but the head pattern may be useful

BTW Couldn't find much rib-wort plantain let alone basking larvae. Saw lots of bumblebees, a ladybird, bluebottles on a dead fox, a pair of Kestrels and some thrush sized wading birds with narrow-pointed wings, which flew out of the grass like startled partridges as we were doing our search. Snipe perhaps?

Phil

[Wurzel]

I really need to get the book out to have a look at this but if the bird had a stinking great bill it could have been a Snipe or possibly a Woodcock?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

I've looked through Lewington and none of the illustrations stood out so is it a moth caterpillar?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Philzoid]

Thanks for your reply Wurzel. I've been away from my computer for a few days so sorry for the late reply .
The caterpillar is a difficult one. As it was found halfway up a grass stem my initial view was a skipper or one of the browns. The shield like structure behind the head might've been a clue, but so far I've not been able to find a picture of a larva which shows that facial disc, so I'm giving up on that one .

WRT the waders, my view now is they weren't Snipe. These birds were slightly larger than thrush size and the feature I remember most was a white wing bar on pointed wings. The habitat they were flushed from was tussocky wet grassland above the sandpit lake. Lapwings were also present.
From looking at my Collins field guide, my view now is they might've been redshank . White downy feathers were found on the ground close to where they took off from.

Also I forgot to mention I saw a Small tortoiseshell my only butterfly sighting this year.

Another sighting I made this Saturday weekend was a tree bee (Bombus hypnorum), which I assumed was a queen, in the woods of Woodham Common, Woking. She inspected a birch tree stump where I was in the process of photoing a bracket fungus, but made off before I could get a picture of her. I have seen this very distinctive species in 2009 at a friend's place in Shere, Surrey where a colony had set up nest in a garden shed. I suspect that tree bees are becoming more common. Certainly Autumn-watch have done a feature on them.

[Gibster]

WRT the waders, my view now is they weren't Snipe. These birds were slightly larger than thrush size and the feature I remember most was a white wing bar on pointed wings.

Hiya Phil,

if the birds you flushed were Redshanks, the most memorable thing would have been the ungodly alarm calls they would have let rip with!!! Plus they exhibit a pretty unique upperside pattern - three whacking big white triangles on a brownish body/wings (white triangle on the rump and one on each wing). So probably not Redshanks?

Common Sandpiper sort of fits the description, and they do overwinter in Surrey in small numbers. But several together in a wet field seems unlikely. Bobbing around the concrete skirt of a reservoir seems a better habitat at this time of year. Snipe would almost certainly be found in that habitat, but surely you would have seen the long bill? They tend to make a loud "squealch" noise as they rise, often repeated 2 or 3 times, before flying up and away - usually quite a long way away, in fact. Ringed Plover is another possibility, white wingbar on a plain pale brown background. Smaller than a thrush though (as is Common Sandpiper) but sizes and memory can be deceptive without a direct comparison alongside.

Your Glanville caterpillars should be busily soaking up the rays on communal webbings, I'd guess. I've only ever found these webs a couple of times at a different mainland colony, but they were fairly easy to spot. I haven't been to the Wrecclesham site, so can't comment about quantity of foodplant, other than to say it is certainly around (and obvious) at this time of year.

Catchya soon mate!

Gibster.

EDIT - I'd say your mystery caterpillar is some sort of a Noctuid. The prothoracic plate and "eye-patterning" look good. Possibly something like a Conistra or Agrochola? But that really is just a guess!!!

[MikeOxon]

Gibster beat me to it over the Redshank alarm call - very striking and memorable! If they were Snipe, a good ID feature you might have noticed would be the zig-zag flight as they took off.

Mike

[Philzoid]

My first imporession was they were snipe but I'm no expert when it comes to identifying waders. On consulting my Collins field guide of Britain and Europe I was initially drawn to the Red-necked Phalarope (can't be that they are rare aren't they ) and after discounting that species; Sanderling, common sandpiper and ringed plover. The birds took off like startled partridges except they kept low and flew straight and very fast. I don't remember seeing the bill so that would suggest it was unlikely to be long. The most prominent features were the white wing bar against a dark wing, the smallish size and the pointed wing shape. I think there was a 'startled call' but I cannot remember exactly ... it certainly surprised me though to see these wader birds taking off from the grass. This grassy habitat is the reason I hit on redshank (although it has a longish bill ) I think I'm just guessing really I need to learn a bit more about waders and always be ready to expect un-expected .

Your Glanville caterpillars should be busily soaking up the rays on communal webbings, I'd guess. I've only ever found these webs a couple of times at a different mainland colony, but they were fairly easy to spot.

That's what I was hoping, but a lot of seaching in the area where the butterflies were most numerous last year drew a blank. Perhaps they lay their eggs in a different area to where they fly? It also concerns me that news of Glanvilles in Wrecclesham might could be attracting collectors. Collecting communal basking larvae should be easy if you know what to look for. I've got my fingers crossed that there will be good numbers of butterflies this May June.

EDIT - I'd say your mystery caterpillar is some sort of a Noctuid. The prothoracic plate and "eye-patterning" look good. Possibly something like a Conistra or Agrochola? But that really is just a guess!!!

Thanks Seth. I've looked at pictures in UK moths of those two genera and I have to say they look a pretty good match. The only problem is that the species from this genera feed on various tress whereas this caterpillar was found halfway up a grass stem. Are there any good web sites you would recommend for viewing larvae?

[ChrisC]

Hi Phil, I use http://www.ukleps.org/

Chris

[Philzoid]

Hi Phil, I use http://www.ukleps.org/

Thanks Chris, I used that site earlier this year when trying to identify my ruby tiger larva photoed in January (I was later reliably informed that it was a Round-winged Muslin moth larva (Thumatha senex) but there was no reference to it on ukleps). However this does not detract from it being a very good site.
Wading through the images I'm slightly more convinced my caterpillar is a conistra species although it would've been in that state for some time as I think the larvae are found in the summer months.