Star-wort larvae at Hemley.

Went for a walk along the saltmarsh at Hemley, beside the river Deben yesterday afternoon. First plants of Sea aster I came across had noticeable feeding damage on, and I quickly located 2 Star-wort larvae on the plant. Took a few photos and then realized there were 2 more larvae on the plant, just shows how well camouflaged they were! Found about 6 in quite a small area, despite the fact there was a good quantity of the plants all over the marsh. A few years since I’ve seen these larvae so a nice find for me.
Other things found included the cases of Coleophora artemisiella swept from Sea wormwood (I’ve found this species here before) and Eucosma tripoliana (netted). A few Wasp spiders also located in the long grass along the sea wall.

Trapping recently hasn’t really produced very much after the excitement of the early Pink-barred sallow the other day, in fact I would say numbers are continuing to decline steadily. Be nice to get some colour back in the trap from the autumnal species, most of the catch being ‘brown jobs’ at present.

Neil

Star-wort larva on Sea aster

Star-wort larva on Sea aster

Wasp spider

Wasp spider

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