Unusually Warm Day Encourages Garden Minilife

Unusually warm today - 18degrees at midday with very little wind brought out  a lot of insects, spiders etc including this Beetle Larva, Harlequin ladybird and various other insects. Spiders were also on the move and I think the white 'mushrooms' are spiders egg sacs. Even a small Geometrid caterpillar feeding on the Knapweed.

 

New Wasp Species for the Garden

Although  there are a lot of black and yellow wasp species, I am pretty sure this is Ancistrocerus gazella, commonest species in our part of England but new to the garden list. Lots of nymphal Shieldbugs - here the Woundwort Shieldbug and dozens of Flower spiders around the garden - they seem to like the pink flowers or, perhaps, they are more visible there. The Yellow Rod takes over from Knapweed as the most visited flowers in the garden.