RSPB Otmoor (1)

 My first visit to Otmoor (Oxfordshire) and was rewarded with some great sightings - Common Crane, Bittern, Heron, Red Kite with Prey in Talons, Heron and Spiked Shieldbug with its impaled caterpillar prey.   There were also some better photographic opportunities of small birds -  next Blog. The Grass Snake was nearer Aylesbury on a stopover.

Life in Miniature in the Garden

I decided last week to do a bit of sweep netting on the cut meadow and margins to see what lives at ground level. Before I started the sweep my eye was taken by this very small Pond Olive with spectacular eyes, a relative of the Mayfly. The Leaf Hopper is a miniature version of the Common Leafhopper

Sawflies, Ichneumons and Others from the Garden

Another batch from the garden last Friday when the wet conditions gave way to a really hot humid day that the insects found to their liking. Lots of different Sawflies and Ichneumons - most not able to identify from photo but will go in the garden database as photos with suggested family etc. The one with the very long ovipositor was very impressive - about 1 cm total size. The rain had brought out slugs and snails

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.

Insect Diversity Paxton Pits

 On Saturday, I helped in a survey of part of the Great Meadow at Paxton Pits and was surprised at the numbers and diversity of the invertebrate species recorded as well as the flora. The area had been flooded for several months over the last winter but is now fully drained except for a bit of water in the deepest ditches. Here are a few of the many insect species that I photographed (not shown to scale) - Braconid Wasp, Hairy Shieldbug, Chalcid Wasp, Ivy bee, Leaf Hopper, Bishop's Mitre Bug, Dasysyrphus tricunctus, Green Shieldbug, Crane Fly, house Fly, Leaf Beetles, Ground Beetle