Honeysuckle Sawfly

This rather splendid furry creature turned up in our garden this week. As the name would suggest, it feeds on honeysuckle as well as its close relative, snowberry, both of which thrive in the garden. Despite feeding on very commonly planted species, it seems to be rather rarely recorded, with only 25 occurrences on the NBN Atlas, though they are spread widely over the southern part of Britain, suggesting that it may be secretive and overlooked.

Most of my day was spent out with the South Lincs Flora Group, recording in the grounds of the former Rauceby Hospital, a rather strange and eerie place. In contrast with our first field meeting the weather was bitterly cold, with a fresh north-easterly wind, and I was very glad I had both my gilet and a thick fleece with me. One of the other botanists lent me a pair of fingerless mittens so that I could actually write the species lists!