Insects and Spiders

Cool ta

Spotted on a budding Newton Wonder apple tree around lunchtime.

Dark-edged bee-fly,
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/bee-flies-cute-bee-mimic-with-a-dark-side.html
'Bombylius major is the UK's most common bee-fly species',
first time I've seen one.

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These little guys emerged today, which is quite lucky as turned over the grass to try grow some wild flowers this year! I think they’re early mining bees? Gave them a little lick of honey to get them on their way.

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Found this cleaning up an old photo folder

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yeah, nah

Cute little huntsman

Small Quaker moth rescued from the surface of a pond in an Oak woodland

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Spotted the garden is full of bees, hadn't spotted mason bees had been using the bee hotel. A female must have emerged because all the lads are going nuts.

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Since my earlier post I’ve spotted six other species of bees, as well as honey and buff tailed bumbles. Also found this lady crawling about when I emptied our compost bin.

Amaurobius ferox I think from the eyes and chelicerae unless anybody knows differently?

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Wtf is this weird fly thing I don’t know. It hasn’t moved an inch in over two hours, got to respect that level of inactivity. March fly maybe?

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Yep, male hawthorn fly or St marks fly from the looks of it, Bibio marci. Obviously just chillin as he’s a day early.

Back in Mallorca for a few days so some Mediterranean insects and a spider.

First up a Napoleon Spider (Synema globosum)

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This is Megascolia bidens - one of Europe's largest wasps at over 4 cm in size

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this is Solenosthedium bilunatum one of the smart shieldbugs only found around the Med

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and this is Trichopoda pictipennis one of the crazy, ornate flies of the region complete with feathered legs

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Super. 👌

ta!

Just met this guy on holiday. Easily 5 inches, maybe 6.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudosphinx

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Back in the UK, first of the seasons Damselflies are out. This one is a female Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) complete with stripey eyes

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Green-veined White (Pieris napi) having a sip of nectar

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one of the nut weevils (Curculio sp) out looking for a mate

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and a pair of Sloe Bugs (Dolycoris baccarum) "making plans for Nigel"

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Fantastic shots!

I've been watching out for my first damselfly, but nothing yet. How far south are you, out of curiosity?

Thanks. On the edge of the Chilterns between Reading and Oxford - any warm days from now on and they should start to be coming out in numbers hopefully.

Little brassy mining bee had a chill on my bottle post ride yesterday in Windmill hill

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