Lakenheath Spiders

Spiders were the most numerous invertebrates at Lakenheath RSPB reserve yesterday - with the temperature reaching 30 degrees they were very active with many males trying their skill at mating. Here Araneus marmoreus and Araneus diadematus with a few extra 'portraits'. The garden spider encounter did not end well with the male taking what looked like a lethal bite. Araneus quadratus were less numerous and escaped my lens. 

Cambridge West Site Panorama Evening

Yesterday evening a group from CCC visited West Cambridge site to take panoramas of the buildings. For some of the time I was using my Sony RX100 Infrared-converted camera to do both panoramas and wide angle shots. These are from the jpegs with a profile applied in camera and then adjusted in Lightroom. Not images that would stand up to scrutiny when printed large but great fun playing with the colour palettes as the light sources changes.

 

Lackford Lakes at 30 Degrees

Like us the only insect life active at Lackford yesterday tended to be lurking in the shade and hence difficult to get quality photos but enjoyed the day hunting.

September Survey, Paxton Pits 2. The Warren

A new area for our surveys, now dubbed the Warren, because of the many rabbit holes. It is the site of the Early Colletes Bees and BeeWolf Wasps. This time we found Field Digger Wasps with prey and many other interesting species.

September Survey, Paxton Pits 1. The Gully

Yesterday was our final survey for the year at Paxton Pits and we split this between a gravel area with a strip of reeds along the centre, known as the Gully and another gravel area. The sun was slow to come out but it was warmer than recently and plenty of insects etc to record.