The wildlife of Pengilfach
Nature Diary
Pengilfach shares its patch with a great deal of wildlife. This is our growing diary of the bugs, birds and creatures we’ve found around the cottages and the valley, with the date and a note on each. A plants page will follow in time.
We’re keen amateurs, not experts: where we’re not yet sure of a species it’s marked “to confirm”. Corrections from those who know better are always welcome.
Bugs, beetles & butterflies
Devil’s coach horse
Ocypus olensThis fellow gave us quite a shock! Found living in the partly exposed (but walled-up) old internal doorway between Nos. 1 and 2. A big black rove beetle that curls up its tail like a scorpion when cornered. All bluff, thankfully, though it can give a nip.
Hairy rove beetle
Platydracus stercorariusA handsome rove beetle (Platydracus stercorarius), a cousin of the devil’s coach horse, patterned with golden hairs.
Black oil beetle
Meloe proscarabaeusA big, lumbering oil beetle with a blue-black sheen. Oil beetles have a remarkable life cycle, their larvae hitch a ride on solitary bees back to the nest. A good sign of a healthy meadow.
Brimstone moth
Opisthograptis luteolataA soft yellow moth with little rusty spots on the wing corners. This one settled on Rachael’s jewellery box, a regular at the summer windows.
Tobacco-coloured longhorn beetle
Alosterna tabacicolorA small longhorn beetle, Alosterna tabacicolor, with the long antennae that give the family its name. Found indoors in the sitting room.
Solitary mining bee
A fuzzy little solitary bee warming up in the spring sun before getting to work.
Giant horsefly
Tabanus sudeticusA horrifying giant horsefly, one of the largest flies in Britain. So loud in flight we thought we had an electrical fault buzzing somewhere! Escorted firmly back outside.
Red-tailed bumblebee
Bombus lapidariusA fine red-tailed bumblebee, spotted by visitors out on the balcony of the annexe studio. Velvety black with a bright orange-red tail.
Violet ground beetle
Carabus violaceusA big ground beetle with a lovely violet sheen to its edges, turned up while digging trenches for the french drains before the cobbles went down. A gardener’s friend, it hunts slugs by night.
Lesser stag beetle
Dorcus parallelipipedusA chunky matte-black beetle, cousin to the great stag beetle. It lives out its early life in rotting wood, so a sign of good old timber about the place.
Oil beetle
Meloe proscarabaeusAnother of our oil beetles, lumbering through the garden. We seem to be lucky with them here.
Red mason bee or tawny mining beeto confirm
A rusty-brown solitary bee laden with pollen. We think a red mason bee or a tawny mining bee, still to be pinned down.
Oil beetle
Meloe proscarabaeusYet another oil beetle, this one making his way up the front doorstep. They do seem to like it here.
Red admiral
Vanessa atalantaA splendid red admiral basking on the new lawn, its dark wings banded with scarlet and dotted white. A late-summer favourite.
Orange-tip
Anthocharis cardaminesA male orange-tip, bright flash of orange on white, nectaring on herb-robert among the forget-me-nots and primroses. A true sign of spring.
Photo by Rachael
Orange-tip, wings closed
Anthocharis cardaminesThe same orange-tip at rest on a daffodil, showing off the beautiful marbled green underwing that hides it among the flowers. Silent film.
Photo by Rachael
Peacock
Aglais ioA peacock with wings spread, showing the four great eyespots it flashes to startle predators. One of our most striking visitors.
Photo by Rachael
Red admiral
Vanessa atalantaA red admiral basking in the sun, wings open, the scarlet bands and white flecks bold against the dark.
Photo by Rachael
Red admiral, at rest
Vanessa atalantaAnother red admiral, this one wings-closed on a warm stone, its underside a far more subtle marbling of browns.
Photo by Rachael
Comma
Polygonia c-albumA comma, unmistakable for its raggedly scalloped wing-edges, which help it pass for a dead leaf when closed. Named for the little white comma-mark on its underwing.
Photo by Rachael
Gatekeeper
Pyronia tithonusA gatekeeper, orange and brown with a twin-pupilled eyespot on each forewing. A butterfly of hedgerows and field edges, forever about the gateways, hence the name.
Photo by Rachael
Meadow brown
Maniola jurtinaA meadow brown on the pink spiraea, showing the soft fawn-and-orange underwing with its single eyespot. One of our commonest and most faithful summer butterflies, out in all but the dullest weather.
Photo by Rachael
Small white
Pieris rapaeA female small white, the modest grey wing-tip and two dark forewing spots marking her out from her larger cousin. She rested a moment on an open hand before fluttering off.
Photo by Rachael
Birds
Buzzard (“Buzz”)
Buteo buteoOur part-time resident, Buzz. Often perched in the half-ash or wheeling over the valley, mewing as he goes.
Pied wagtail
Motacilla albaA dapper black-and-white visitor, forever bobbing its long tail as it trots about after insects.
Pheasant
Phasianus colchicusA handsome cock pheasant strutting down the bottom driveway in the low afternoon sun, coppery body, white collar and that unmistakable red face.
At the feeders
The feeders bring in a steady crowd through the year. Tits, finches and the odd hopeful squirrel.
Feeder cam
A quiet winter’s afternoon at the feeders, caught on the trail camera. Silent film.
Busy branch
Fat balls and feeders strung along the branch, with the birds coming and going. Silent film.
Feeder tree, with a view
The feeder tree in full swing, the whole valley laid out behind. Silent film.
Animals
Rabbit
Oryctolagus cuniculusOne of the rabbits that graze the lawn at dawn and dusk, always an ear cocked for Ron.
Common lizard
Zootoca viviparaA common (viviparous) lizard basking on the warm stone. Quick as a flash if you get too close.
Basil
Not strictly wildlife, but Basil the guinea pig insists on being counted among the fauna of Pengilfach.
Ron & Zeus
The resident hounds. Ron (site security) and his cousin Zeus, briefly holding still for a portrait.