As implied by its common name, this little bumblebee is often one of the earliest to emerge from winter hibernation. I have watched them feed all around my garden since early spring, often dangling under flowers to get a drop of nectar.

Starting with the Pulmonaria, I have also seen it feeding on the Blueberries, the Acer and the Rosemary. Currently the Cotoneaster is favourite and later in the year I would expect to see it on the Raspberries (Autumn variety in my garden) and the Linaria. It doesn't appear to be very caring where it gets it's pollen and nectar.

It's a small bee, with queens no bigger than a Buff-tailed worker bee and the Early workers are just a bundle of fluff. You can easily see the yellow band on the top of the thorax but the abdominal stripe is often less distinct. The "red" tail is more difficult, quite pale with variations in colouring and fading with age, but definitely not "white" or "buff". The males are much more colourful with bright yellow faces.

This one appears to have done a lot of work (or maybe just a lot of preening) - she's going bald!

You can find out more here

Look closely inside the hole and you can just about make out her face in the dark.

17 April 2022

Next day I watched one emerge. It was a slow and steady process of peeking outside the hole, gradually bringing it's body forward and then suddenly it was gone.

I'd like to say this was a female but looking at the photos I can't be sure yet (I'm not experienced enough). Seen together, the male is smaller than the female, has longer antennae and white bushy facial hair. 

The males appear to patrol the post (in between feeding on the Rosemary) dipping to check out each hole to see if a female is inside but without touching. I haven't witnessed a female egg laying yet this year - I suspect the activity is emerging bees at the moment. 

They are equally quick on the Rosemary - barely landing on the flower before moving onto the next. Almost impossible to photograph with my phone - all the pictures so far just include a blur of ginger! So this is the flower without any bees

Gradually I am seeing them feeding on other flowers around the garden but the main focus is still on the Rosemary, possibly because of it's proximity to the post.

18 April 2022

They do not appear to be early risers, instead they wait for the sun to warm up the post . My favourite moment was noticing little antennae peeking out of each hole on the north east face of the post at around 10.15am - 8 bees in total and quite likely all males judging by the shape of the antenna and you can just see the white hairy face. Impossible to photograph them in a way that you could see them all but this photo gives an indication.

We have another post in the garden now and I've added some extra holes for this year's nests. I noticed that the bees were only interested in the old holes, so I presume these contain females waiting to emerge.

If you spot all black bees around your nest boxes, it's likely to be an elderly male. Their colours bleach and they go bald as they get older. This photo is courtesy of Robert who has built houses to attach to his shed from oddments of drilled wood and bamboo canes. Here's a lovely video, including a female reversing into the holes. I need to up my game!

Needless to say this completely disrupted my afternoon and I kept popping out (resting my eyes!!) to see if I could record the event. The short video below was recorded in slow motion on my phone which is something I will avoid in future as the slow motion feature affects the quality considerably. But you can get the gist:

By this time the population of females had increased to 3 at any one time and I regularly watched 3 males patrolling too. 

The image at the top of this post is the Male Hairy Footed Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes) taken a few years ago - it's the best photo I have to show off the hairy feet. They are incredibly quick, preferring tubular flowers where they hang upside down (hence the Pulmonaria but also active on the Flowering Currant in my garden) which makes them incredibly difficult to photograph. They will also feed on primroses, which I have an abundance of in both the flower beds and now the lawn!

I have occasionally found males resting, basking the warmth of the sun, but never a female. Some more rubbish photos below - getting better but still a long way to go.

The males are a buff ginger and have lovely hairy feet, hence the name. The females are pure black and lack the hairy feet, you can often spot the pollen collected on their orange/red hind legs from a distance. They are one of the earliest solitary bees and usually lay individual eggs in soft mortar, each egg sealed with a provision of nectar. Read more here

Listen carefully for a low humming noise and you may be lucky to find a queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). She will be stocking up on food but if you see her hovering low to the ground she is searching for a nest site, probably an old mouse nest. Once found, she will raise her first brood of workers alone and needs plenty of nectar rich plants to feed them before sending them out into the world to feed the next broods.
A little smaller, you can't mistake the Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum). A vibrant copper thorax, black abdomen and white tail makes this relative newcomer easy to spot. You may muddle it with the Common Carder Bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum) but these never have a white tail. Tree Bumblebees often nest in old bird boxes and holes in trees - very different from most of the other UK Bumblebees. A few years ago we had a nest behind the weatherboard on our house and this was the catalyst for me beginning to draw bees.
I get a lot of Carder bees in my garden but I have never managed to get a decent photo or find their nest site.

This beautiful Buff-tail was resting for a long time on the trunk of my Mulberry Tree and I wondered if she was newly emerged from hibernating amongst the roots. You can see a collection of mites hitching a ride. These are mostly harmless - according to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust:

"Most bumblebees have many tiny mites clinging to their bodies. In most cases the mites are difficult to see, but sometimes they can cover large parts of the bumblebee’s body.
The good news is that most of the mite species that live with bumblebees are fairly harmless to them and are simply clinging to the bumblebee so that they can be transported to new nests. When in the nest, the mites usually feed upon the wax, pollen, nest debris, and other small insects, so do not feed on the bees. Then, when they reach a certain stage in their life cycle, the mites cling to worker bees, and are transported onto flowers. From these flowers, the mites then attach to other visiting bees, and are transported to new nests.
However, the mites may present a problem if an individual bumblebee becomes so heavily infested that it is unable to fly because of the weight of the mites. If this happens, you can try to remove some of the mites by gently brushing them with a child’s paintbrush."

A much higher pitched and faster buzz alerts me to the Hairy Footed Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes) - there has been a male about for a few days now but I haven't spotted a female yet. The male is gingery brown and has the hairy legs, where the female is all black. Not the best photo, they are a bit quick, but you get the gist. They seem to prefer the Lungworts (Pulmonaria spp.) aka Soldiers and Sailors, and I'm pleased to say these are thriving in my garden.

Back in May, close investigation revealed an infestation of Blackfly and various insects were converging to feed on the sweet sugar excretions as well as the aphids.

Bumblebees were clearly interested in the sticky "honeydew" flavourings:

Ladybirds are well known predators of aphids. As well as munching through large numbers as adults, their larvae are even better at clearing the infestations. A slightly wobbly film, but you get the gist:

New to me was this Beetle, but is it a Malachius bipustulatus or a Cordylepherus viridis ... or maybe I'm completely off track!

The sticky dewy excretions also attracted a number of BlueBottle flies (presumably Calliphora vomitoria).

I believe the third photo shows a wasp (it's a huge family and I am not even close to learning many of them) and I remember seeing a number of hoverflies joining the fray but I don't appear to have taken any photos - perhaps they were too quick!

It wasn't long before the larvae/pupae appeared, but again I can't find many decent enough photos to share here, although the 2nd image shows evidence that the ants have turned up:

Blackfly are aphids which feed by sucking the sap from plants, often specialising in particular hosts.

Not all aphids are considered pests, but some cause a lot of damage by introducing diseases to the host plant or simply distorting plant growth through the sheer numbers. Their secretions can cause a sooty mold, which reduces the photosynthesis capabilities of the host plant. The numbers build up quickly as, during the summer, they give birth to live (self fertile and pregnant) young.

I discovered that they probably overwinter as eggs on a nearby Spindleberry (Euonymus europaeus) or Philadelphus (or maybe the Viburnum in the front garden) and can also overwinter as adults tucked away on the host plants. The timing of this host transition from food source to hibernation appears to be governed partly by the freshness of leaf.

As is often the case with "pests" the Blackfly has fascinating adaptations throughout the lifecycle: laying eggs for overwintering in the Autumn but giving birth to live young in spring/summer. Sometimes they develop wings when the host plant is overcrowded, enabling them to use air currents to drift to another plant, but otherwise this seems a waste of energy. Males seem to be connected to the egg laying process as they have no role in the spring/summer generations.

On the bright side the flies and eggs are a wonderful food source for birds, lacewing, hoverfly larvae and ladybirds, and their honeydew secretions benefit other insects, such as ants (who attempt to protect the fly from other predators in a process often referred to as "farming"). Tiny parasitic wasps are known to lay eggs inside live aphids, the wasp larvae eating them from the fly from the inside as it develops!

The Raspberries are just outside my window and I regularly watch the wildlife: birds using the support structure, butterflies resting and bees pollinating. A few years ago, the year we had a huge wasp nest in the loft, the flowers were largely pollinated by wasps. This year I believe there's a nearby nest of carder bees and these are joined by honeybees and the occasional small hoverfly.

The raspberries are popular with Squash and Shield bugs - they drop to the ground, playing dead when you touch them.

The ones seen this week are the Dock Bug Coreus marginatus - there is Sorrel growing in the mini meadow and I believe these are the nymphs, probably early instar and late instar based on the British Bugs website where it is described as a Squashbug.

And the other is a nymph of the Common Green Shieldbug - Palomena prasina 

The following images were taken at different times around the garden and on my morning walk. To be honest, I can't be sure they are the common shield bug but I am pretty certain they are shield bugs. The first instar is rather cute!

And then there were a couple of caterpillars. The stick like one has been identified as The Engrailled Ectropis bistotata (thanks to Wendy for searching her Jim Porter's marvellous book - apparently its the only one that does that funny pose). I forgot to ask her about the other one! (update - the hairy one is probably a Vapourer or one of the other Tussocks) Both seemed to have disappeared by the next day (predated overnight?) but I've since found The Engrailed pretending to be a stick

Then a little orange fly appeared. If you want to know about flies I suggest you follow Erica McAllister on instagram although I think her tweets are more fun (aka FlyGirl).

This was closely followed by a Wasp. Now I'm a bit more interested in the wasps at the moment, enough to notice this is not the same as the one I recorded burying prey in the paving.  (Nature Diary 280721). 

There were several flying around a wooden structure behind the raspberries and previously I had seen one disappear into the structure with prey. At first I assumed it was another digger wasp accessing the soil beneath, it was all a bit quick to photograph and they seemed very aware of me. It was subsequently identified as one of the Ectemnius species which are very difficult to differentiate. They nest in wood, excavating tunnels with several cells which are then stocked with food (various flies and hoverflies) for the developing brood - so I guess this one was having a quick clean up and rest ready for a bit of fly catching (or perhaps a male, just catching his breath). There's so much to learn!

Now the arachnophobes will have probably switched of by now but I'm pretty sure this is a Harvestman rather than a Spider but I couldn't get close enough to be sure. There's some fun facts and better photos here.

The Raspberry patch is just outside my studio window so you can imagine how little work I am getting done at the moment as every movement catches the corner of my eye! But just one last picture .... don't forget that ants pollinate too ....

We are nearing the time when the new queens and drones are released from the nests and the workers are getting less food from the larvae so I wasn't entirely surprised to find a wasp feeding off the Blackfly sugary secretions

Last year my runner beans in the vegetable plot were decimated by blackfly so I planted a few in a patio pot and it was easy picking well into the Autumn. This year the plot beans are just about coping with the blackfly but the pot ones are decimated! 

I recently came across a post on Twitter asking for photographs of Wasps (any type) on flowers (any type) as they are researching what plants are pollinated by wasps. So I was delighted to be able to tweet that my little wasp found the self-seeded Helleborine near the pot beans:

It's the broad-leaved Helleborine, Epipactis helleborine which is mainly common in woodland settings but has happily established beneath one of my Box Balls. To aid pollination the flowers can contain a kind of alcohol caused by a fungus, which encourages the insects to keep feeding and get a little tipsy!

You can find more information about the Big Wasp Survey here

And now I'm really entering the realms of "I have no idea what I am talking about!"

Take this one for example. I first spotted it on the Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium maculatum?) which has self seeded in the mini meadow - a lovely plant for insects, although I was initially warned it could be quite invasive, this doesn't appear to be the case as yet. At first glance the insect looked very similar to a small buff-tailed bumble bee worker, also feeding on a neighbouring flowerhead, but there was something about the way it moved. Birders talk about the jizz or giss (the overall impression or appearance of a bird garnered from such features as shape, posture, flying style or other habitual movements, size and colouration combined with voice, habitat and location) and this applies to insects as well. 

This one exhibited quite jerky movements as it took off and flew away, and once I could get in closer it clearly has the wrong eyes, no waist and only a single set of wings. It's a fly then ... and based on experience, probably a hoverfly. And that's when it started to get difficult. The first picture search pulled up Volucella bombylans, which seemed reasonable as it's a bumblebee lookalike but after further research I realise it has the wrong tail colour and should probably be Volucella plumata (via Naturespot) . Then a different search came up with Eristalis intricarius, and it could easily be the female shown here. At which point I'm going to give up and just say it's a Hoverfly that mimics a Bumblebee and I'm excited to see one in my garden.

Another new one for me....

I'm pretty sure this one is an Eristalis but no idea which... and please don't quote me! I realise I need to find a reliable forum which will identify them.

Then I was hugely excited to see this one, which as you can see from this angle, looks very much like a Hornet:

There's two similar Hornet lookalikes and close inspection leads me to believe this is Volucella inanis rather than V. zonaria according to the description on Naturespot

As a parasite of Wasp larvae, including Hornets, this may explain the lack of Wasps in my garden this year?

The next one was spotted amongst the honeybees and, although rounder and with the usual fly attributes, it was quite difficult to spot the difference unless you looked a bit closer:

According to the Wildlife Trust website this is a Drone-fly, probably Eristalis tenax. Apparently recent research has found that these Hoverflies not only look like Honeybees but have also developed the same moves and flight patterns. Ivy flowers are important for overwintering adults.

And now the pièce de résistance ... while chasing the Drone-fly around trying to get a decent photo it zipped off the leaf and revealed .....

Apparently that's the fate of the Digger Wasp prey - buried to feed the next generation in sandy soil.

I've had several suggestions for identification but i get the impression that they are all very similar and for good identification you need a specimen or very good macro photos. So it could be Gorytes laticinctus, Cerceris rybyensis or Cerceris arenaria? maybe?

Here's a slow motion of the last stages to help:

This may be the same species, spotted in 2018 emerging from the soil under a well established ​pot grown Acer palmatum dissectum:

During the FlightPath Community project there have been a few discussions about insects that have adapted to our built environment and those that recolonise post industrial sites. This little wasp has certainly made the most of the sand layer under our paving.

 It will take me a few days to get my eye in properly to identify the cabbage whites. I find them particularly difficult even if they settle and let you get close enough but today they were focused on patrolling their territory looking for a mate. Butterflies seem incredibly hard to photograph - I wonder if they can feel the vibrations as you tiptoe closer or if their eyes are particularly sharp.

I know I get both Large and Small Cabbage Whites - check the underside of plants they visit and you'll notice they have different eggs: white eggs belong to the Small, while the Large has yellow eggs. And the caterpillars are very different. But I still struggle with the adults unless they settle in exactly the right position. 

I'm pretty sure the one above is a Small and the one below is a Large but I'm happy to be corrected.

The Small Heath was a bit of a surprise too - I thought it was a small Gatekeeper but there's no such thing! The Small Heath is not on the Count so I need to be careful to check the butterflies in my garden.

I do hope this won't put you off spending 15 minutes each day (when you can and when the weather is good) until 8th August. This Citizen Science project is a really important record of the state of our nature as butterflies are considered Indicator Species. There's a very useful App to help you record them and lots of helpful identification tips.

Last year's count was the trigger for some close-up studies of butterflies which are currently on sale via Kevis House Gallery in Petworth. I can feel a Cabbage White study coming ... maybe that will help?

oh, and don't forget the moths .... 

The "Cow Parsley" was looking stunning in this wildlife patch outside the Cafe and I stepped in for a closer look in time to spot some gorgeous creatures:

The current thinking on Harlequin ladybirds is that killing a few will make very little difference to their spread and sometimes it's difficult to distinguish one of our native struggling species. A voratious predator of aphids, it has a reputation for turning on other eggs and larvae when foodstocks are low. Report findings here.

My app identified the hoverfly as a Sun Fly, Helophilus pendulus, but this hoverfly is also called 'The Footballer' referencing its stripy thorax. 'Sunfly' is due to its preference for bright sunny days. However there are several species with similar stripes which are difficult to tell apart: Helophilus pendulus, H. trivittatus and H. hybridus. A common find, particularly around water or damp habitats. (more info). This was right next to the lakes.

The bee is probably the Common Carder bee, Bombus pascuorum, although it's difficult to be sure without seeing it's bum.

There were other insects flying about but too quick to photograph or identify.

I'm not an expert on Cow Parsley. Suffice to say this flower belongs to the Umbellifer family. The same family as carrots, parsnip and dill, there are also a number of very poisionous, ones such as Hemlock, and skin irritants, such as Giant Hogweed - so take care! Google Umbellifer for some really interesting reads such as Richard Jackson and Rachel Lambert.

This underview reminds me of wild carrot - I was fascinated by the little purple umbel in the midst of the cream:

I'm interested in how the landowner allows this field to develop. Ragwort was growing on one edge last year and full of Cinnabar moth caterpillars, I wanted to see if this was still the case.

Ragwort has a terrible press agent. The plant contains toxins that are poisonous to horses and there has been a lot of scaremongering about this beautiful native plant. Suffice to say, what evidence of poisoning exists relates to cases of horses fed on hay (dried grasses) where Ragwort is also present. Horses are sensible enough to avoid the plant but appear not to be able to detect it once dried.

Ragwort is the key food source for the Cinnabar moth caterpillar (Tyria jacobaeae) and supports at least 29 other species bee, beetle, other insects and fungi. So it's an important plant. You can read some more information here.

I was delighted to find the Ragwort is gently spreading across the field and there were a few caterpillars on the ones I could reach easily without disturbing the meadow.

Definitely one for the Beetle sketchbook.

​And I leave you with this - difficult to see in the photo but there appeared to be a caterpillar inside ...

According to Plantlife, Knapweed (Centauria nigra) is one of our toughest meadow plants and a firm favourite of our pollinating insects, being a source of good quality nectar. As well as supporting our bee, butterflies and beetles, its seeds provide food for many birds. One of the reasons I now have a growing population of Goldfinches (although the teasels probably play an important role too!)

My meadow is still a bit too fertile and in places these plants grow almost to my shoulder, so the insects are easy to spot. Such diversity, but my garden seems to be very popular with hoverflies this year (probably due to the high number of aphids as well as a good flower diversity throughout the year).

There are around 270 species recorded in Britain, with numbers boosted by migratory populations. They are good pollinators and their larvae are important predators. Over one third of hoverfly species eat plant lice and aphids, while others, known as rat tailed maggots, live in dirty, stagnant water eating the decaying matter (such as the Drone Fly above). Larvae of the Narcissus bulb fly feed on the daffodil, tulip and lily bulbs alongside others that live on decaying wood.

There's a really good selection of images on the Naturespot website

Male and female hoverflies are often similar in size, colour and markings, and some species are very difficult to differentiate without dissection. There were several similar in weight to the Marmalade hoverfly but difficult to photograph.
Their markings are intended to deter predators, by colour or mimicry but there's no evidence that it is successful (except perhaps with humans).

This one appears to be a parasitic wasp wandering amongst the stems - a species of Ichneumon? I know very little about these and research will have to wait for another day.  But I have been listening to a wonderful podcast series about 'Ologies' and a recent one was 'Spheksology (WASPS) with Eric Eaton'

Other insects spotted included bumblebees, honeybees, beetles, and flies, but my favourite to watch is one of the leafcutter bees (Megachile)

And finally, I learned that there is a species of aphid specific to the knapweed - Uroleucon jaceae. They were neatly spaced up the stem for several days and every so often it was like a ripple ran through them. Then one day, they had gone - hopefully to feed one of my garden birds?

Who need a dandelion when you can have a giant dandelion - known commonly as 'Jack goes to bed at noon, this beauty is Tragopogon pratensis and sits high on my 'must source this' list. Dandelion like flowers that close at midday, I first came across this plant in the rough verge between the road and car park at Staplehurst Station. I'm thrilled to see how it is spreading in the 'Little Switzerland' meadow.

Now relax and enjoy 3 minutes of raw footage in my favourite local meadow. I haven't found out why this is called 'Little Switzerland', but this small field previously used to sheep grazing  and currently appears to be managed as a meadow.

​You need to look closely to spot some of the insects ...

I'm pretty certain the landowner is now managing this area for wild flowers and I was very excited to find an orchid. Full identification has been confirmed as Common Spotted Orchid, Dactylorhiza fuchsii - enjoy the sounds in this very short video:

To reach the meadow, the footpath drops over a stream and then climbs back though a small wood before opening into the field.

The toboggan field appears to be managed as a wild flower meadow for the last few years. Approached across the stream through a small woodland, the field is bordered by a mixed hedgerow near to the path and a pond under trees in the top right hand corner. Otherwise it is surrounded by arable farmland.

Mid summer it will be alive with the call of grasshoppers but for now it's just coming to life with a few butterflies, bees and lots of hovering flies. Swathes of buttercups and various grasses, with patches of veronica and promise of flowers to come. I was delighted to find Yellow Rattle in one corner and wonder if the owner has sown it deliberately. 

... a little bit like a honeybee but it's antennae were incredibly long.

A quick Twitter check with Ian Beavis confirmed this was a Long-horned bee (Eucera longicornis).

Only the males have the long antennae so there could be females around that I am not proficient enough to identify. To be honest they could have been one of the many bottoms sticking out from the flowers! Ian was slightly surprised it was feeding on the Weigelia but this plant is near the mini meadow where the vetches are just coming into flower and there's a large patch of bird's foot trefoil in the "lawn". 

According to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust this species has declined significantly across Britain and is now absent from many of the southern counties it used to be found in. As a result, it is considered a UK priority species. Eggs are laid in burrows dug by the female in bare or sparsely vegetated light soils, preferring south-facing slopes or vertical cliff faces. They emerge in mid-may and are on the wing until early July.

I love that they can go grey as they age. This one must be fairly new or he's keeping out of the sun.

Checking the flower again today I realise how lucky I was to spot this yesterday - there's barely a bee in sight.

So pleased I managed to get some photos. I'm sure you will understand how excited I am!!!

When I eventually manage to drag myself into the studio I am listening to Dave Goulson's audiobook "The Garden Jungle" ... hugely informative and a great follow on from his earlier book "A Sting in the Tail"

It's almost impossible to relax in the garden at the moment with the constant buzzing and tweeting. My walk to work is completely distracted as movements catch my attention and need investigation.

Marden Meadow is a small nature reserve based between Marden and Staplehurst managed by Kent Wildlife Trust. An unimproved hay meadow, it is home to a number of orchids as well as  daises, vetches and wild grass, one of the few left in this country.

With the weather warming up I was concerned that I had left it a bit late this year. The orchids were looking a little past their best but the buttercups and grasses were just beautiful, gently blowing in the wind.

It's really difficult to capture the essence of this place in a few photographs ... the scale, the movement, the hum.  So beautiful and tranquil.

I'm a little worried by how few insects there were. During visits in previous years I have noticed bumblebee nests and all manner of insects buzzing about. This year there were plenty of CraneFly, a couple of butterflies but little else. My garden is similarly quiet and I suspect a very cold dry April followed by an equally cold but non-stop rain May is having an impact on insects. 

30 Days Wild is billed as "The UK's biggest nature challenge!"

A challenge to do one wild thing a day throughout June! 

If you sign up through the Wildlife Trusts website, you'll get a free pack of goodies to help you plan your wild month, plus lots of ideas to inspire you to stay wild throughout June (and beyond!). Follow the hashtag on social media for lots more inspiration and helpful hints. This was one of my first introductions to all the wonderful nature nerds out there! Don't worry if you missed the start - just join in when you are ready.

I was lucky to spot a Cardinal Beetle on the footpath walk to the local shops.

There are two common Cardinal Beetles, the Red-headed Pyrochroa serraticornis and the less widespread Black-headed Pyrochroa coccinea which is still considered common here in the South East of England.

I was pretty sure this creature wasn't a lily beetle but I began to doubt myself when I looked back at the photos so I'm grateful to Ian Beavis (https://twitter.com/iancbeavis) for the confirmation. "The Cardinal Beetle is much bigger (at least a couple of mm!) and the wing case is more of a matt red rather than ladybird red." You can see them from April to June when they lay eggs in and around area of dead bark usually on  fallen trees (exactly where I found this Black-headed Cardinal Beetle!) and the adults  feed on other flying insects while the larvae predate on other insect larvae.

Talking of ladybirds, I must confess that I hadn't thought of them as being beetles. So that led to an internet search for other Red Beetles and up popped the Common Red Soldier Beetle - Rhagonycha fulva. I remember these as "Bloodsuckers" (although there's no evidence of them sucking any human blood). They are thinner than Cardinals and appear much later in the year, feeding on other insects visiting the flower they are resting on as well as eating nectar and pollen. This photo was taken last July on the same footpath.

The mini meadow is full of a wide range of insects - I'm constantly amazed at how alive it is. So my options with the lily beetle are to leave well alone and hope the wildlife deals with the infestation or spend time picking and squashing (which I am loath to do).

Presumably the bright red colour is intended to warn predators that they are not very appetising and as you approach they drop to the ground, usually landing on their backs so their black underbelly merges with the shadows and make them incredibly difficult to spot.

The larvae coat themselves in their own excrement (disguising themselves as bird droppings) so it's a pretty determined creature likely to bother eating them! Birds, Frogs, Wasps and Ground Beetles will have a go.

Simon Barnes is so much better at explaining all this in his book Rewild Yourself which I am currently listening to in the studio via Libby.

PS. I found a wonderful blogpost about the Crab Spider while checking my photo identification - click on the spider to read more.

And a little later there were SEVEN Starlings traipsing across the lawn. I haven't seen that many since my children were little and it's a sure sign that the grass is no longer being treated with chemicals to kill the moss (and everything inside!)

A couple of years ago I heard a strange call as a bird circled overhead. It made me incredibly sad to realise this was a Starling doing a very lonely murmeration. So it's wonderful to see the numbers increasing and hearing their strange clicks and cackles every day. As far as I could see this was a mix of adults and fledglings (I got the binoculars out) and I'm pretty certain they fledged a week or so ago - there was such a disturbance. I find it strange that adult birds make such a row when their babies are out for the first time (especially Wrens). It certainly lets me know what is going on but maybe it's a diversionary tactic, encouraging predators to focus on the mother rather than the somewhat defenceless little ones.

I had been feeling a little disappointed with #nomowmay but I suspect it is the longer grass that is encouraging the grubs that are feeding the starlings. I will persevere.

Apologies for the rubbish photos - they were all taken quickly on my phone through the window so I could share this wonderful experience.

A few years ago I worked on a Twitter collaboration of Photography, Art and Poetry
Chaz E. Arnold   @PaigntonPoet
Reuben Howes   @RDHPhotos
Louisa Crispin   @Louisa_Crispin

See more here

​On balance there is definitely room for both, my main concern is that the conservation message is being misunderstood as many people are unaware of the different types of bees and the role of pollinators.
I have found this a particularly difficult post to write - I would love to hear your views, please comment below:

If you would like to read more - these are some websites where I found further information:

What are nectar and pollen : www.navmi.co.in/what-are-nectar-and-pollen/

The problem with honeybees : ​​www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-problem-with-honey-bees/

Bumblebee Conservation Trust statement on Honeybees etc :  www.bumblebeeconservation.org/our-position-statements/

Buglife - B-Lines (nature corridors) Project : www.buglife.org.uk/our-work/b-lines/

If I hang around long enough the Ruby Tailed Wasps will arrive. They lay their eggs in the same holes and the emerging wasp feeds on the larvae of the bees. I can't find any photos but you can read more here.