Showing posts with label spider. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spider. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Wider Angle Macro

 As my 60mm macro stopped focusing suddenly and seems to be permanently, I tried my 18-45 mm lens with the Raynox close-up filter. Here a few examples of what is still active in my Cambridge garden. Most taken at the 45mm end but the Cricket and Flower spider were at the 18mm end.


Friday, October 11, 2024

Lots of Insects in Ivy plants

Lots of different Fly species, Box Bugs,and other Hemiptera, Spiders and Ivy Bees feasting on the late nectar in the Ivy Flowers

Sunday, September 8, 2024

Nature at Your Fingertips

Yesterday was the September Wildlife Survey at Paxton Pits and was in a large meadow complex adjacent to the River Ouse with damp ditches so it was not surprising to find quite a few wet species such as this Pond Olive that I rescued from a spider's web (it has lost one tail streamer). Lots of Spiders around this time of year including Xysticus matching its surrounding as does the Pardosa species running across pond weed. Otherwise the species that I was very pleased to record two years ago, Ormyrus nitidulus, a metallic green wasp, were very abundant below the oak trees (they lay eggs in the gall-causing caterpillars!).

Monday, August 5, 2024

Wasp's Attempt at Theft Foiled

My eye was caught by this wasp trying to steal prey from a spider's web. It had just about sawn off the fly's head  to take away when the spider Enoplognatha spp) arrived arrived on the scene. The wasp tried to escape but it was caught by strands of the web until its struggles broke the connection and it flew away. Interesting it had its sting out in the final frame - wonder if the spider or wasp would have won if it had not got free.

 

Sunday, August 4, 2024

More Tales from the Garden

We had both of  the large hoverfly Hornet mimics in the garden yesterday (Volucella inanis and zonaria ) - here V. zonaria caught in flight at 1/10,000 second a Green-veined White at 1/4000. The bee was probably too large and dangerous a prey for the flower spider! The Ruddy Darter is a new species for the pond and good to record two different Harvestmen under the same log pile. Finally a couple of very attractively marked green bugs (Hemiptera)