Insect Life in Garden (August 3-6th)

Rather a backlog of insects from the garden, some of them new for the list like this Ophion Ichneumon, a genus that lays eggs in Noctuid moth caterpillars.

Bee-Grabber Flies and Flower Spider

This Myopa testacea, a Thick-headed  or Conopid fly, is also known as a Bee-Grabber as it does exactly that - travels to the top of plants and sits there waiting for a passing bee. It then attaches itself to the bee gaining entrance to its nest and laying eggs in the nest. The Myopa  larvae parasitze the bee larvae. These photo-stacked images show how wonderfully adapted it is for this with large upward facing eyes, powerful legs and sharp curved claws. The two head enlargements show the difference between a jpeg from in camera stacking and the same set of images, but the Raw versions processed first in DXO rawPrime 3 and stacked with Zerene Stacker. Final image focus-stacked flower  spider.

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.

Bees and Wasps on a Sandy Heath

The Beewolf Wasps come to the end of their season but there are abundant other Hymenoptera feeding, mating and nest building. I think the bandied mating bees are the Heather colletes, Colletes cunicularius, and the very pale bee may be its cuckoo bee, Epeolus cruciger . The other parasitic species, the Ruby-tailed wasp Chrysis ignita, were present in large numbers