YWT Woodfield Bioblitz 19 & 20 June 2026
Species recorded by Doncaster Naturalists’ Society members to be added to the iNaturalist records for the Flourish, the YWT and the DCC Biodiversity teams.
Moth trapping in Walled Garden:
Undertaken by Nora Boyle; Mick Townsend from Doncaster Naturalists’ Society; Paul & Ann Davis and Les Driffield from Butterfly Conservation.
The following is a preliminary list of species I noted phonetically while walking between the traps as their contents were being identified. It isn’t a definitive list of confirmed species and neither does it give the totals of each species.
MOTHS
Bee Moth Aphomia sociella
Box Tree Moth Cydalima perspectalis (inc a melanic spn).
Brown House Moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella
Brown-line Bright-eye Mythimna conigera
Buff Ermine Spilosoma lutea
Common Footman Eilema lurideola
Common Yellow Conch Agapeta hamana
Dark Arches Apamea monoglypha
Elephant Hawkmoth Deilephila elpenor
Grey/Dark Dagger Acronicta tridens/psi agg.
Hart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis
Hawthorne Moth Scythorpia crataegella
Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba
Light brown Apple Moth Epyphyas postvittana
Peppered Moth Biston betularia
Beautiful Plume Moth Amblyptila acanthodactyla
A Plume Moth sp.
Riband Wave Idaea aversata
Small Bloodvein Scopula imitaria
Small China-mark Moth Cataclysta lemnata
Small Magpie Anania hortulata
Tawny Grey Eudonia lacustrata
BUTTERFLIES
Meadow Brown (3+) (Unmown grass lawns)
Ringlet (Flower borders outside Walled Garden)
Unidentified White (Walled Garden)
LEAF-MINERS
Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner Cameraria ohridella
Walnut Leaf-miner Caloptilia roscipennella
HYMENOPTERA (Bees, Wasps & Ants)
Several unidentified parasitic Ichneumon flies were caught in the Moth Traps.
DIPTERA (2-winged Flies)
Tiger Cranefly Nephrotoma flavesce (caught in Moth Trap in Walled Garden)
COLEOPTERA (Beetles)
Common Malachite Beetle Malachius bipustulatus (Shaken from tree foliage)
Green Dock Beetle Gastrophysa viridula (Shaken from tree foliage)
Green Nettle Weevil Phyllobius pomaceus (Shaken from tree foliage)
Rosemary Beetle Chrysolina americana
Thick-thighed Flower Beetle Oedemera nobilis (in large flower heads)
7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella septempunctata
HEMIPTERA (Bugs)
Hairy Shieldbug Dolycoris baccarum (caught in Moth Trap in Walled Garden).
Forest Bug or Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes (shaken from tree foliage)
HYMENOPTERA
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Hedgehog Gall on Common Oak Acraspis erinaceid
Ramshorn Gall on Common Oak Andricus aries
Western Honey Bee Apis mellifera
NEUROPTERA (Lacewings)
Lacewing sp. (Larva shaken from tree foliage)
DERMAPTERA (Earwigs)
Common Earwig Forficula auricularia (shaken from tree foliage)
ODONATA (Damselflies & Dragonflies)
Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum (Walled Garden & Un-mown lawns.)
OPILIONES (Harvestspiders)
Nemastoma bimaculatum (In woodland leaf-litter)
ARANEAE (True Spiders)
A Long-jawed Orb-web spider Tetragnatha spider (Shaken from tree foliage)
Candy-striped spider Enoplognatha ovata 2 x yellow form (Shaken from tree foliage).
A Theridion immature spider (Shaken from tree foliage).
A Crab Spider Xisticus cristatus (Shaken from tree foliage).
A Running Crab Spider Philodromus sp. 2 x (Shaken from tree foliage).
A Clubiona spider. A nocturnal hunter. (In woodland leaf-litter)
A population of the Garden centre spider Uloborus plumipes is established in the roof structure of the Greenhouses in the Walled Garden. A display (salvaged from Doncaster Museum) illustrating the spider, its egg cocoons its Yorkshire distribution and the house-plants it is most associated with was presented to the staff of the Walled Garden for display to the visiting public. A friend of the gardener, this spider seems to specialise in catching greenhouse pests such as the whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum.
ISOPODA (Woodlice)
Striped Woodlouse Philoscia muscorum (In woodland leaf-litter).
FUNGI
Artists Bracket Fungus Ganoderma applanata (on base of felled Walnut stump opposite St Catherine’s Hall)
BIRDS
Blackbird
Chiffchaff Tickhill Road woodland.
Collared Dove
Dunnock (Walled Garden)
Feral Pigeon (population on St Catherine’s Hall)
Jackdaw
Magpie
Robin (Walled Garden)
Wood Pigeon
MAMMALS
Bat Walk About 50 people [mainly young families] took part in the Bat walk, commencing at 9.30pm. After a very comprehensive talk on bats, their biology, behaviors, ecology and conservation, enthusiastically delivered by a member of the South Yorkshire Bat Group, each family group was given a Bat Detector set to 45kH. This was to enable us to listen for ultrasound emitted by the greatest range of local bat species. The excited group set off toward the deciduous woodland adjacent to Tickhill Road. We walked through the length of the wood, periodically stopping at gaps in the tree canopies or where security lighting was attracting night-flying insects. We then went, across the un-mown grassland lawns opposite St Catherine’s Hall, round the back of the Victorian Walled Garden and back to St Catherine’s Hall.
The first bats emerged after sunset and were attracted to hunt for flying insects around the security lighting adjacent to the woodland. Then more navigational clicks and feeding ‘zip’ sounds were detected from bats feeding high around the tree canopies [particularly Sycamores and Oaks]. Interestingly some of the children could hear the bat clicks without using the detectors. At about eight sites, groups of bats were watched busily circling around the tree canopies, the many ‘zip’ calls indicating the success of their vigorous aerial hunting. Although bats were hunting in two different habitats, along woodland paths and high above canopy level, it was deemed that all the bats heard had been Common Pipistrelles.
Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis (Running between trees in sunken garden).
FLOWERING PLANTS
(Walled Garden, Wild or naturalized species) [Records from CAH & Louise Hill]
Annual Meadow-grass Poa annua
Barren Brome Bromus sterilis
Black Medic Medicago lupulina
Black Nightshade Solanum nigrum
Bread Wheat Triticum aestivum
Broad Dock Rumex obtusifolium
Broad-leaf Plantain Plantago major
Broad-leaved Willowherb Epilobium montanum
Cat’s-ear Hypochaeris radicata
Cleavers Galium aparine
Common Bent-grass Agrostis capillaris
Common Cat’s-ear Hypochoeris radicata
Common Mallow Malva sylvestris
Common Mouse-ear Cerastium fontanum
Common Orach Atriplex patula
Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris
Common Sorrel Rumex acetosa
Creeping Bent Agrostis stolonifera
Creeping Buttercup Ranunculus repens
Creeping Cinquefoil Potentilla reptans
Daisy Bellis perennis
Dandelion sp. Taraxacum sp.
Field Horsetail Equisetum arvense
Fennel Foeniculum vulgare
Fern Grass Catapodium rigidum
Field Pansy Viola arvensis
Field Scabious Knautia arvensis
Great Mullein Verbascum thapsus
Great Willowherb Epilobium hirsutum
Ground Ivy Glechoma hederacea
Herb Robert Geranium robertianum
Hoary Willowherb Epilobium parviflorum
Italian Rye-grass Lolium multiflorum
Ivy-leaved Toadflax Cymbalaria muralis
Knotgrass Polygonum aviculare
Lanceolate Plantain Plantago lanseolata
Lesser Trefoil Trifolium dubium
Long-headed Poppy Papaver dubium
Nipplewort Lapsana communis
Opium Poppy Papaver somniferum
Ox-eye Daisey Leucanthemum vulgare
Perennial Rye-grass Lolium perenne
Petty Spurge Euphorbia peplus
Prickly Sow-thistle Sonchus asper
Rat’s-tail Fescue Vulpia myuros
Red Campion Silene dioica
Red Clover Trifolium pratense
Red Fescue Festuca rubra
Rosebay Chamaenerion angustifolium
Rough Meadow-grass Poa trivialis
Self-heal Prunella vulgaris
Six-rowed Barley Hordeum vulgare
Sheep’s Sorrel Rumex acetosella
Snapdragon Antirrhinum majus
Sun Spurge Euphorbia helioscopia
Wall Barley Hordeum murinum
Water Bent-grass Polypogon viridis
Water Figwort Scrophularia auriculata
White Bryony Bryonia alba
White Campion Silene latifolia
White Clover Trifolium repens
Wood Avens Geum urbanum
Yarrow Achillea millefolium
Yorkshire Fog Holcus lanatus
(Un-mown Lawns opposite St Catherine’s Hall) [Records from CAH & Louise Hill]
Autumn Hawkbit Scorzoneroides autumnalis
Barren Brome Bromus sterilis
Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera
Bird’s-foot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus
Black Medic Medicago lupulina
Broad Dock Rumex obtusifolium
Cock’s-foot Grass Dactylis glomerata
Common Cat’s-ear Hypochoeris radicata
Common Mallow Malva sylvestris
Common Mouse-ear Cerastium fontanum
Common Orach Atriplex patula
Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris
Common Sorrel Rumex acetosa
Common Spotted Orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii
Common Vetch Vicia sativa
Cow Parsley Anthriscus sylvestris
Creeping Buttercup Ranunculus repens
Creeping Cinquefoil Potentilla reptans
Cut-leaved Crane’s-bill Geranium dissectum
Daisy Bellis perennis
Dove’s-foot Cranesbill Geranium molle
Field Horsetail Equisetum arvense
Field Woodrush Luzula campestris
Germander Speedwell Veronica chamaedrys
Great Willowherb Epilobium hirsutum
Ground Ivy Glechoma hederacea
Hedge Bedstraw Galium mollugo
Hemlock Conium maculatum
Herb Robert Geranium robertianum
Knapweed Centaurea niger
Knotgrass Polygonum aviculare
Lady’s Bedstraw Galium verum
Lanceolate Plantain Plantago lanseolata
Lesser Stitchwort Stellaria graminea
Lesser Trefoil Trifolium dubium
Meadow Buttercup Ranunculus acris
Mugwort Artemisis vulgaris
Nipplewort Lapsana communis
Ox-eye Daisey Leucanthemum vulgare
Prickly Sow-thistle Sonchus asper
Pyramidal Orchid Anacamptis piramidalis
Rat-tailed Plantain Plantago major
Red Campion Silene dioica
Red Clover Trifolium pratense
Red Fescue Festuca rubra
Rosy Garlic Allium roseum
Rough Meadow-grass Poa trivialis
Self-heal Prunella vulgaris (including white variety)
Sheep’s Sorrel Rumex acetosella
Smooth Hawk’s-beard Crepis capilaris
Smooth Meadow-grass Poa pratensis
Soft Brome Bromus hordeaceus
Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica
Sun Spurge Euphorbia helioscopia
White Bryony Bryonia alba
White Campion Silene latifolia
White Clover Trifolium repens
Wood Avens Geum urbanum
Yarrow Achillea millefolium
(Woodland adjacent to Tickhill Road)
American Pin Oak Quercus palustris
American Red Oak Quercus rubra
[Apple Malus x domestica (Sunken Garden adjacent to Walled Garden)]
Barren Brome Bromus sterilis
Bearded Couch-grass Elymus caninus
Beech Fagus sylvatica
[Black Mulberry Morus nigra (on lawn to east side of St Catherine’s Hall)]
Broad Dock Rumex obtusifolium
Bramble Rubus fruticosus agg.
[Caucasian Wingnut Pterocarya fraxinifolia (border south-west of St Catherine’s Hall)]
Common Ash Fraxinus excelsior
Common Cat’s-ear Hypochoeris radicata
Common Mallow Malva sylvestris
Common Oak Quercus robur
Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris
Cow Parsley Anthriscus sylvestris
Creeping Buttercup Ranunculus repens
Creeping Cinquefoil Potentilla reptans
Creeping Soft-grass Holcus mollis
[Cucumber Tree Magnolia acuminata (border South-west of St Caterine’s Hall)]
Elder Sambucus niger
Elm Ulmus procera
False Brome Brachypodium sylvaticum
Field Horsetail Equisetum arvense
Field Maple Acer campestre
Great Willowherb Epilobium hirsutum
Ground Ivy Glechoma hederacea
Hazel Corylus avellana
Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna
Herb Robert Geranium robertianum
Holly Ilex aquifolium
Honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum
Ivy Hedera helix
Lanceolate Plantain Plantago lanseolata
Lime Tilia x europaea
Nipplewort Lapsana communis
Norway Maple Acer platanoides
Prickly Sow-thistle Sonchus asper
Raspberry Rubus idaeus
Red Campion Silene dioica
Rowan Sorbus aucuparia
Rough Meadow-grass Poa trivialis
Silver Birch Betula pendula
[Strawberry Tree Arbutus unedo (Sunken Garden, adjacent to Walled Garden)]
Sweet Chestnut Castanea sativa
Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus
Turkey Oak Quercus cerris
[Walnut Juglans regia (Venerable Standards planted across main lawns)]
White Bryony Bryonia alba
White Campion Silene latifolia
Wild Cherry Prunus avium
Wild Privet Ligustrum vulgare
Wood Avens Geum urbanum
Yew Taxus baccata
Yorkshire Fog Holcus lanatus
(Driveway Verges) [Records from Louise Hill]
Common Bent Agrostis capillaris
Common Sorrel Rumex acetosa
Common Spotted Orchid Dactyloriza fuchsii
Field Woodrush Luzula campestris
Lesser Stitchwort Stellaria graminea
Soft Brome Bromus hordeaceus
Tall Fescue Schedonorus arundinaceus
Yarrow Achillea millefolium
(Roadside & Tipping area) [Records from Louise Hill]
Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera
Black Medick Medicago lupulina
Creeping Cinquefoil Potentilla reptans
Lesser Trefoil Trifolium dubium
Red Clover Trifolium pratense
Rosy Garlic Allium roseum
Selfheal Prunella vulgaris
White Clover Trifolium repens
CAH.