Completing Dorset Visit: Day 6 - Sabre Wasp

Preparing 2023 images for archiving, I realised that I never sorted and processed images from day 6 of our Dorset Trip when we visited Hook Woods - general insects to follow but here Rhyssa persuasoria, the Sabre Wasp, trying to locate a beetle larva in a fallen trunk. the male is much smaller shown at the end.

Sharpenhoe - Other Insects

I went hunting for these Thistle Gall flies having been fascinated  on a previous visit by their iridescent eyes and bright orange antennae and mouthparts. They were joined during our RPS visit by a host of other species

Churchyard Survey Toft 20/03/23

Delighted to record the first Hairy-footed Flower bees and the solitary bee Andrena bicolor (both males) at Toft Churchyard yesterday, along with a 7-spot ladybird and a very small Ichneumon wasp. There also some very attractive toadstool - Scurfy Twiglet Tubaria furfuracea blending in perfectly with the scales from the Cypress Cedar.

Insects in Summer Garden

I try to record the insects in the garden most days.  Even with the drought conditions, there are enough plants and flowers to support a very varied fauna. Yesterday there were Hoverflies, Greenbottle, Woolly Carder Bees, several species of Plant Bug, two species of Snail-killing Flies and Ichneumon Wasps.