Trumpington Meadows 1st April

Yesterday should have been the first butterfly transect for 2026 at Trumpington Meadows but the cloud cover was too dense for a viable record so we walked the route looking our for any interesting insects etc. We did see two Peacock butterflies but otherwise it was generally  the furrier and hardier insects that were on the wing.  IDs as far as I can go on sheet.

 

Toft 30th March Bees

The warm sun on Monday brought out lots of bee species iour Cambridgeshire garden, verges etc including several Andrena species, lots of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) and also several Nomada species - striped parasites of mining bees laying eggs in their nests. Pleased to see my favourite Andrena - the Ashy Mining Bee with its silver grey hairs on body and bushy beard/moustache is on the wing. ID sheet at end.

Toft 30th March Flies

 The Bee Fly is a parasite of mining bees dropping its eggs into the open burrows where the grubs feed on the bee's young. A sunny afternoon brought out a large number of bees and flies onto the daisies and dandelions in the village. Here are a few of the Diptera species - not the most attractive collection unless you like hairs and bristles but certainly demonstrates the large variety even semirural (gardens, verges, churchyards) environments support. Bees etc to follow!!

Paxton March Survey - Meadow Trail

Yesterday was our first wildlife survey of the year at Paxton Pits. This is traditionally our 'Signs of Spring' session though we do try to record whatever plants, insects, birds etc that we see. Here is my selection on a very unspring-like day, starting with a most endearing Nettle Weevil which I thought was just a bit of detritus on a nettle leaf. Amazing number of insects etc found considering the air temperature only averaged 5 degrees though there were periods of sunshine that warmed the leaf surfaces. Tentative ID sheets at the end as usual.

Coot Territorial Disputes

The golden afternoon directional light gave some great colours to the water and spray yesterday afternoon at Paxton Pits as the Coots repeatedly argued about the position of their territory boundaries while the Bluetits fed on the Willow catkins above my head (where did the 2 hours go?!!)