Royston Heath Bees etc 2nd April

Yesterday's weather turned out warmer and sunnier than expected and the chalkland Bees etc responded with lots of activity among the Pasque Flowers. Delighted with a fair number of Red-tailed Mason bees flying  around, on the Pasque Flowers and investigating snail shells where they lay their eggs and pack with pollen for the larvae to feed on. Several other Bee Species and Flies, Suggested IDs on sheet but may need correcting!!

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!!