Trumpington Meadows - Banded Demoiselles etc

Eventually the chilly and blustery weather during our walk round Trumpington Meadows was replaced by sunshine and the Banded Demoiselles took to the air for a bit of hunting and display. I have long wanted to get them in flight with the wings well displayed and at last here are some shots both against the sky and in vegetation. Several Mayflies hanging around as well as serving as meals for the Demoiselles. Several other photogenic subjects including the Black-headed Mason Bee - possibly quite a rarity. At the end a fly infected with Entomophthora fungus - seen quite a few this year - perhaps the damp conditions are favouring the fungus.

 

Royston Heath - Record Number of Bee Orchids

It was too windy on Church Hill yesterday to do full justice to the wonderful display of Bee and Fragrant Orchids in full bloom at the moment with just the occasional Pasque Flower remaining. I saw a single Adonis Blue and about 4 Marbled Whites and we were entertained by a hovering Buzzard and a very active Mistle Thrush.

King's College Cambridge

King's College grounds are looking at their best at the moment with the natural and planted meadows fully grown.  In 2020, they transformed a section of their lawn into a colorful wildflower meadow filled with poppies, cornflowers, and oxeye daisies. This was part of an effort to boost biodiversity and adapt to changing climate conditions.The meadow supported three times more plant and insect species than the remaining lawn, including 14 species with conservation designations.

Still Catching Up on IDs

 Another batch from the garden last week. The Hemiptera (plant bugs) give quite a challenge as they are generally small and move fast. If I find a new garden species, such as the second image (Closterotomus trivialis),  I look it up in the search text facility in Lightroom to see if I have recorded it before and was interested to find I saw this bug first in Crete. I researched it and found it was discovered in UK in 2009 but has now spread widely - another sign our climate is warming.