Metidiocerus rutilans, Kingmoor Nature Reserve, 6 December 20 (1 of 3)
Metidiocerus rutilans leafhopper (female) in the Kingmoor sidings Nature Reserve, Carlisle, 6 December 20.
I really wasn't expecting to find anything here today, especially as it was cold and not particularly sunny. So I was delighted when I found what I thought was a new leafhopper on what remains of a recently vandalised fence surrounding a small seasonal pond in a wooded area of the reserve (see later photo).
However, when I got home and looked through my Flickr page I realised that it was probably the same species I'd photographed a few miles away in Kingmoor South on 7 December 18, almost exactly two years ago! As I hadn't managed to identify this earlier sighting I didn't hold out much hope of coming up with a definitive ID. However, despite the poor light I managed to get some much better shots using my DCR-150 macro adapter, and by resting my camera on the fence for stability I even managed to get a usable facial shot at higher magnification (Photo 3).
Thankfully identification then turned out to be straightforward, and the sighting was verified by iRecord the following day:
www.britishbugs.org.uk/homoptera/Cicadellidae/Idiocerus_r...
As noted on the British Bugs website, this species is mainly found in southern Britain, and there are only a handful of records currently shown on NBN Atlas and iRecord for the northern half of the country. It's also believed to be the first record for VC70 (Cumberland) and the second for Cumbria (Cumberland and Westmorland).
Note added 18/12/20: Last sentence added following feedback from CBDC.
Metidiocerus rutilans, Kingmoor Nature Reserve, 6 December 20 (1 of 3)
Metidiocerus rutilans leafhopper (female) in the Kingmoor sidings Nature Reserve, Carlisle, 6 December 20.
I really wasn't expecting to find anything here today, especially as it was cold and not particularly sunny. So I was delighted when I found what I thought was a new leafhopper on what remains of a recently vandalised fence surrounding a small seasonal pond in a wooded area of the reserve (see later photo).
However, when I got home and looked through my Flickr page I realised that it was probably the same species I'd photographed a few miles away in Kingmoor South on 7 December 18, almost exactly two years ago! As I hadn't managed to identify this earlier sighting I didn't hold out much hope of coming up with a definitive ID. However, despite the poor light I managed to get some much better shots using my DCR-150 macro adapter, and by resting my camera on the fence for stability I even managed to get a usable facial shot at higher magnification (Photo 3).
Thankfully identification then turned out to be straightforward, and the sighting was verified by iRecord the following day:
www.britishbugs.org.uk/homoptera/Cicadellidae/Idiocerus_r...
As noted on the British Bugs website, this species is mainly found in southern Britain, and there are only a handful of records currently shown on NBN Atlas and iRecord for the northern half of the country. It's also believed to be the first record for VC70 (Cumberland) and the second for Cumbria (Cumberland and Westmorland).
Note added 18/12/20: Last sentence added following feedback from CBDC.