Toft's Bees and Other Wildlife Wake Up

 The warm conditions yesterday brought a lot of species out of their winter dormancy and onto the foliage. Favourites definitely the small Weevil, Box Bug, Bee Fly, and the unusual-looking parasitic fly, Gonia picea. I recently received the new Flies book by Stephen Falk and others so looked it up. The Dark broadface visits flowers including Daisy, is parasitic on moths including Square-spot Rustic which we definitely have in the garden and is one of the first Tachinid to appear in spring. Bees more difficult to ID!

New Shieldbug Species in Garden

It has been confirmed that what I thought was a Green Shieldbug coming out of its brown winter state, is the Gorse Shieldbug, Piezodorus lituratus. A couple of Box Bugs were active, along with lots of Bee Flies and a Carder bee, photographed with its proboscis deep in an Alkanet flower - the latter is an excellent insect plant, flowering early and attracting lots of bee species.

 

Garden Insects etc

Pleased to see a  Scarlet Tiger caterpillar in the garden today feeding on the comfrey - there were certainly a lot of adults on the wing in the garden last year. Otherwise my first Bee Flies and several species of 'bees', one or two identifiable including Nomada parasitic species.

Flying Insects and Unusual 'Bug'

Continuing the quest for good flight images of insects, the hoverflies were at 1/5000th and 1/6400th and the Bee Flies at 1/6400th and 1/8000th. The wing movement relates more to position of wing in flap cycle than to shutterspeed.

 The Saucer Bug, Ilyocoris cimicoides, is a new species for me and is listed as incapable of flight in Paul Brock's 'Bible' but this one definitely flew away when asked to pose too often. Looking into it further I found the following statement 'Although I. cimicoides is fully winged most individuals have reduced flight muscles and are unable to fly, but flight has been observed in England and Denmark' 

 Otherwise lots of activity on a warm afternoon including the Ashy Mining bee with its parasitic wasp Nomada goodenia and also N. flava

Bee Flies, Bees and Birds in Toft

A miscellany from the last couple of days in Toft - bee flies taken at 1/800th and1/6400th second and still not quite stopping wing movement; three Andrena species of mining bees (A,nitida, A. heamorrhoa and A. cineraria); three migrant species (Chiffchaff, blackcap,Willow warbler) and a Dunnock.