I finally got close enough to a crisp male Ruddy Darter, the first one I have seen this year. It's got a blood-red abdomen compared the duller orangy-red of the Common Darter and the abdomen is waisted. The legs are also all black (black with yellow-stripes in Common darter). This was sitting close to the mill leat at Woods Mill. Less common than Common Darter but on the increase, a nice species to see at close range as they are often very mobile. In the moth trap Alice Parfitt caught the nationally scarce Kent Black Arches and I noticed a Beautiful Snout nearby, possibly one of the best moth names!
An Alternative Natural History of Sussex. This blog shows the highlights of my day to day findings as a naturalist and ecologist living and working in Sussex. Delivered with a pinch of nihilism, a dash of sarcasm and absolutely no tweeness, here is my attempt to show natural history as it really is: Brutal, beautiful, uncompromising and fascinating...and occasionally ridiculous.
Pages
▼
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Ruddy Hell!
I finally got close enough to a crisp male Ruddy Darter, the first one I have seen this year. It's got a blood-red abdomen compared the duller orangy-red of the Common Darter and the abdomen is waisted. The legs are also all black (black with yellow-stripes in Common darter). This was sitting close to the mill leat at Woods Mill. Less common than Common Darter but on the increase, a nice species to see at close range as they are often very mobile. In the moth trap Alice Parfitt caught the nationally scarce Kent Black Arches and I noticed a Beautiful Snout nearby, possibly one of the best moth names!
Nice shot, have never (knowingly) seen a Ruddy Darter, but will be watch for the blood-red waisted abdomen. This sounds a bit gothic.
ReplyDelete