As summer rolls slowly round (very slowly this year!), Digger Alley wakes up. As regulars will know, this piece of path, so bland and unexciting for many months of the year, suddenly becomes one of the most fascinating spectacles you could wish to see - and all at our feet. The cold spring has definitely delayed activity (especially compared to last year when we had that scorching hot weather during lockdown), but all the regular contributors are showing off their skills.
Little Green Eyed Flower Bees are emerging, they're particularly photogenic when fresh
Pantaloons too are digging themselves out of their over-winter homes
It doesn't take long for them to start the hunt for pollen, provisioning their burrows ready to lay eggs
Ornate Bee Fox pairs are getting to know each other (ahem!)
Digging holes
And simply flying about aimlessly
Crabro peltarius - we call her Darth Vader wasp due to her all black face - is catching flies
Though you don't realise just how hard they punch into the burrow until you watch a video - and this is 1/4 speed!
Did you spot the cheeky little "Burrow Watcher" fly sneak in behind? They hang around the Alley all the time, watching for someone distracted so they can pop down and lay their own egg in the burrow (they're known as an inquiline species, exploiting another species' living space). The big fly she takes down is one of the Snipe flies
Another fly hunter is Oxybelus uniglumis - she impales the fly on her sting to drag it down the burrow
Here she is getting down to business
Regulars will be worried that we've got this far and not mentioned everyone's favourite, the Beewolf. They've been conspicuous by their absence so far this year, but worry not! The first lady appeared at the weekend, so hopefully it will start getting much busier now they're waking up
For a change however, I will leave you with the amazing spectacle of a Sand Wasp digging & stocking her burrow. Sit back and marvel at the skills of this little wasp