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Grayling
Hipparchia semele
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This large butterfly is surprisingly difficult to spot. Although fairly conspicuous when in flight, it is perfectly camouflaged against a background of bare earth and stones where it likes to bask. It always rests with its wings closed, often leaning its wings at different angles to the sun to regulate its body temperature. The butterfly will sometimes raise its forewings, revealing the dark eye spots. In D&G it has a strongly coastal distribution.
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Marmalade Hoverfly
Episyrphus balteatus
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This is possibly our commonest and most widespread British hoverfly, and one of the easiest to recognise. About 1cm long, its two moustache-shaped black bands on the orangey abdominal segments are unique. The adults can be seen throughout the year, but are most abundant during the summer months when numbers are supplemented by migrants from the continent. There are in excess of 280 different species of hoverfly in the UK. Some can be identified with care from photographs, but others are very difficult to identify and require close examination of a specimen.
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Bedeguar Gall
Diplolepis rosae
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Also known as Robin's Pincushion, this easily recognised gall on roses is caused by a tiny gall wasp. Eggs are laid in the buds, and the swollen plant material induced by the eggs' development becomes home to a group of tiny larvae, which live in chambers inside the gall and feed on the plant material. It occurs on the stems of wild roses, acquiring the reddish colour as it matures. The emerging adults in spring are all females, which are able to lay fertile eggs without mating.
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Lion's Mane Jellyfish
Cyanea capillata
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This is one of the largest known species of jellyfish, so-called due to its mass of long, thin, hair-like tentacles. It has been known to reach up to 2m in diameter but those found around our coast are much smaller, typically 30-50cm. They are reddish or yellowish-brown in colour, and have a very nasty sting if handled, even long after being stranded on the shore. In June this year, many jellyfish were washed up on the D&G coast. If you found and photographed any, useful identification guides can be found here (pdf) and here.
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Species to look out for in August
