RSPB Sandy Insect Activity

As forecast, the sun came out and temperatures rose yesterday so there was plenty of activity around the banks to some of the paths at RSPB Sandy yesterday. This colony of Ivy bees were very active. I think they were mainly males but I did catch a female laden with pollen (wider abdominal stripes). Also recorded a Sphecodes bee (Blood Bee) - these are cleptoparasites (lay their eggs in another species' nest) - Ivy bees not recorded as hosts but there were presumably other mining bee species nesting in the bank  The small ponds on the walk were very active with lots of Ruddy Darters paired and laying eggs plus Migrant Hawkers and Southern Hawkers. The Gardens behind the house were quiet - just a handful of butterflies, a Firebug and a few Carder bees.

RSPB Sandy 12th August

 A curtailed but enjoyable RPSNature outing to Sandy on Wednesday - those booked to come on the outing who lived a long distance away took the advice to postpone to a cooler time so just Chris and I braved the temperatures spending most of our time where we could stand in the shade photographing insects on sunlit plants. We concentrated on the Butterflies and Hummingbird Hawkmoths in the morning. In the afternoon, I hoped to get a range of Bee species on the heather to start to learn IDs for this group of insects but there were very few active in the intense heat so we decided it was wise to also abandon the open spaces and head for home!!

RSPB Sandy Insects

Saturday afternoon was just about perfect for insect photography with warm temperatures but light cloud most of the time clearing about 16.00 to give good directional light. RSPB Sandy as always produced some very interesting scenarios including this Sharp-tailed Bee taking a nap in the Lavendar (bees often 'sleep' clamped onto a flower or leaf with their mandibles but I haven't seen a vertical 'napper' before), tricolor jewel wasp,  lots of Green-eyed Flower bees, Hummingbird Hawkmoths and a Colletes Bee (Apps suggest Ivy bee but surely too early)

In Flight at RSPB Sandy

Bright sunny day - ideal for attempting to capture insects in flight and RSPB Sandy had a plethora of wonderful subjects to practise on including  the aggressive-looking Bee-wolf Wasps, the 'cuddly, Green-eyed bees, athletic Hummingbird Hawkmoths, feeding Carder bees and the very long legged Sand Wasp

RSPB Sandy Walk with Paxton Volunteers

A very enjoyable walk round RSPB Sandy today - the rain that was expected in the morning didn't arrive though the afternoon proved wetter than forecast. We were mainly hunting for interesting fungi, slime moulds and lichens but with the warmer temperatures some of the creatures were on the move. I have never recorded the Spotted Snake Millipede before so that was a good find. There were lots of brackets and crusts on the trunks, a few 'toadstools and we found a few slime moulds though not as many as I hoped. Tentative IDs in the sheets.