Queen Anne's Lace Time

Cow parsley is in full bloom this weekend in Cambridgeshire. It is also known as Queen Anne’s Lace, though the name is used for several other plants, including wild carrot. My mother loved this flower and always used this name so it is fitting that my parents' memorial seat, which is a tribute to their love of Toft, should be surrounded by it. It was also known by Mothers Die - a name apparently to deter children from picking the similar poisonous Hemlock.

 

Lakenheath Spiders

Abundant Spider activity at Lakenheath on Friday - lots of Xysticus species (Crab spiders) taking all kinds of prey including another spider species Heliophanus. The dark Pardosa spiders were mostly carrying egg sacs though one pair appeared to be mating. Pisaura mirabilis often rest with legs all crumpled as if dead while there were several webs full of Araneus diadematus young

Lakenheath Beetles

With a rise in temperature and even some watery sun, there were abundant insects and other small creatures to photograph yesterday at Lakenheath Fen. Here a few of the Beetles - the Coleoptera is the largest of all Insect orders, constituting almost 40% of described insects and 25% of all known animal life-forms. The largest family is the Curculionidae (weevils), with some 83,000 member species. Here a small Weevil about to take flight and a Click beetle launching. Otherwise a selction of the many species found and photographed with varying success on depth of field etc.

Garden Activity Increases with Temperatures

There was a definite increase in activity among the mini-wildlife in the garden yesterday with the warmer temperatures at last. The Red Mason bees were found coupled in various areas, while this is the first time I have recorded mating Pardosa spiders. I am always happy to photograph the wonderfully spotty/stripey Speckled Bush Cricket nymphs with lots of other species including several Shield and other Bugs (Parent, Birch Catkin Bug, Green, Hairy). Lots of Large Red Damselflies and the first Azure Damselfly.

RPS Nature Group Meeting at Rutland Water

Unfortunately the promised warmer and brighter weather failed to materialise so another outing in cold, breezy and, at times. wet conditions. The birds were keeping low in the vegetation searching for sheltering insects etc but I did manage satisfactory photographs of a couple of Reed Warblers and Green Woodpecker, Reed Bunting, Common Tern and Great Crested Grebe. Very few insects visible but here an Orange Tip and a Colletes bee species with the X100v plus macro attachment and the 100-400mm lens for comparison. Many thanks to Peter Ward for organising the trip.