The ivy was literally buzzing with life last month.
Wildlife on our allotment in Hungerford
A record of visitors to Marsh Lane Allotments in Hungerford - some good; some not so welcome! Includes insects, butterflies, moths, birds, mammals, amphibians and anything in between.
Saturday, 10 October 2020
Ivy Mining Bee
Sunday, 27 September 2020
Dock Bug
We’ve seen masses of these around the allotment this year. This is a late instar, close to being an adult.
It seems that they’re very partial to raspberries, yellow or red, they’re not fussy! (Unlike birds which tend to leave the yellow fruits).
The raspberries are covered in them but they don’t seem to be causing too much damage.Sunday, 30 August 2020
Very Hairy Caterpillar
Jamie found this on our raspberry bush today.
It looks like similar to a Pale Tussock moth caterpillar.
But much lighter than any of the photos online show.
Any identifications welcome!
Thankyou.
Sunday, 23 August 2020
Shiny Metallic Leaf Beetle
We haven’t found this particular leaf beetle before (Gastrophysa polygoni). On attempting to identify it, I discovered that it’s quite common in the UK and the most identifiable orange part is called the pronotum on beetles. It was tiny, maybe 3mm.
It was in a wheelbarrow of manure, but I think it probably just landed there, as it’s more likely to be found in leaf litter or on knotweed, which we have on site (not Japanese knotweed). It was very shiny and bright against the dark manure.
More info on this great website - https://www.coleoptera.org.uk/species/gastrophysa-polygoni
Sunday, 9 August 2020
Elephant Hawk Moth Caterpillar
I haven’t found anything worthy of a post to this blog for over a year, but this week I’ve been lucky and these finds definitely deserve a post.

Very snakey, to scare off predators.

Saturday, 18 May 2019
Thick-Legged Flower Beetle
Look at those legs! They are what identifies him as male.
A flower beetle (Oedemera nobilis) - pretty little thing. It lives on pollen, so no problem with him visiting the allotment site!
Sunday, 27 May 2018
Damselfly
I'm guessing it emerged from our little pond as the skin hasn't quite been shaken off yet.
Looking at the British Dragonfly Society website I would suggest that this particular damselfly is a Ischnura elegans or Blue Tailed Damselfly - but I may be being fooled by that blue tail :-)