Standing up for Nature
Social Distancing Week 12. White Ermine Moth Paul writes: I don’t have to travel far to find moths. It’s at this time of year that, in the evening, I start to leave lights on in rooms, with the curtains and blinds not drawn. Many moths are drawn to light and on calm warm nights, especially…
Social Distancing Week 11. Wall Brown. Paul writes: every year I see Wall Brown butterflies along the field path next to my house. They first appear in the later half of May and remain through to August. I photographed this one a few days ago, it was my first sighting here this year. The Wall…
Social Distancing Week 10. Large Narcissus Fly. Paul writes: I’ve started seeing this distinctive fly around the village in the last week. It will be a regular visitor to a lot of gardens at this time of year. The Large Narcissus Fly (Meredon equestris) is a hoverfly which is so named because its larvae develop…
Social Distancing Week 9. Holly Blue. Paul writes: I’ve been watching Holly Blues flitting around my garden for the past few weeks but they have never settled anywhere, until this week. I have a Holly bush in the garden, that I’ve been watching regularly, hoping one of the butterflies would show an interest in it….
Social Distancing Week 8. Ashy Mining Bee. Paul writes: One of the good things I’ve discovered about looking for insects closer to home are the unexpected finds. The Ashy Mining Bee ( Andrena cineraria) is my best this spring, it is a first for my local patch, OS square TA0978. It’s a bee that I…
Social Distancing Week 7. Hairy-footed Flower Bee. I’ve been watching a colony of these beautiful bees since the middle of March. I initially noticed them in one of the flower beds in my village five years ago and now I watch out for them each year. Hairy-footed Flower Bees (Anthophora plumipes) are one of the…
Social Distancing Week 6. The Footballer. The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus) is a colourful hoverfly that has started appearing in my garden over the last few days. It’s a chunky fly which rests with its wings open. The striped thorax is what makes it stand out from most other flies, so it’s quite recognisable. It’s a…
Social Distancing Week 5. Gooden’s Nomad Bee. I love dandelions at this time of year. They are one of the main food sources for a huge variety of insects so a nice expanse of flowers in a sunny spot is an ideal place for watching and waiting. There is a grassy bank just along the…
Social Distancing Week 4. Tapered Drone Fly. This is the most visible insect in my garden at the moment. It is a hoverfly, which mimics a drone Honey bee (Apis mellifera). The male Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax) is fiercely territorial and is busy staking out its territory. It can be heard buzzing and seen…
Social Distancing Week 3. Missing-sector Orbweb Spider Paul writes: Sometimes a spider’s web is more interesting than the spider itself. You don’t have to look at this web for long before realising how the spider got its English name. The left hand side section of the web contains no spiral threads, hence the missing sector….