All about Insects 2019

Don't look, Wendy!

I just had this pop up in the living room.

It is GINORMOUS!! The biggest house spider I have EVER seen.

I actually measured the gap in the cardboard box lid that it is standing on and factored it up - 9cm (3.5") front to back across the legs. It must have opened the back door just to get in!

Nigel it isn't 1st April you know!!!!!!!

Someone asked for a bumble bee head shot. Here's a very dopey Common Carder caught out in the chill morning which allowed me to get really close.

Sorry, Gaynor, it's not actually standing on my finger as requested, but I didn't want to wake it up in case it got out of the wrong side of the bed!

Wow what a shot!!!! Don't you think it looks really prehistoric, but beautiful too. Well done Nigel. I nearly took a spider today that fell off my wellington boot that I was just shaking before taking Sue for walk, so didn't like to hold her up!!! Quite big and possibly pregnant, I moved it along towards the shed wall, hope it didn't decide to enter the kitchen:-)

Brilliant macro Nigel, they look quite intimidating when you see them so close up ! Hopefully we'll soon be photographing more butterflies, moths and other insects as the weather settles down and warms up next week. Btw, we'll be at LM Sun - Wednesday; apart from a brief trip to Woolson three weeks ago we last went reserve walking back in February so are getting withdrawal symptoms !

Gaynor, I suppose many insects are genuinely prehistoric or at least still look the same as they did when the dinosaurs were around, although bees must have been newcomers as flowers haven't been around that long! But yes, insects are beautiful (or at least fascinating) and I think they often make great subjects for photos - even flies sometimes!
Hazy, I suspect I'll be photographing fewer birds and more insects soon! I still want to go to LM etc for a couple of days, but I'm not sure I'll get up there early next week, so good luck with your trip - sounds like you need it.

The fine warm weather has brought insects out in abundance today. There was a big hatch of Mayflies from the River Loddon and you could see gulls catching them in mid air. I was after dragonflies today, which I will post on the appropriate thread, but I did manage to snap this smart Cardinal Beetle.

While I was out on Saturday, I was looking at a Hawthorn tree absolutely covered in blossom that I know is a spot Ruddy Darters like to take the sun. There weren't any Dragons but I did see lots of bees and I thought, what would I see if I just stood and watched for 15-20 minutes. I must admit I got carried away and ended up there for an hour, but the results were quite impressive for the variety ...

My first Dagger fly (Empididae)

There were a few of what I thought were little wasps hunting, that rarely landed. This is the best photo I managed. It has the narrow wasp waist but odd eyes. I actually found out it is a cuckoo bee (Nomada sp.) that just looks like a wasp, although why a bee would want to mimic a wasp is a bit bizarre! Never seen (or at least recognised) one of those before.

Next to arrive was a Click Beetle (Elateridae)

Oh, that posted before I had finished! I'll continue ...

I had been attracted by bees initially and finally caught a Tree Bumblebee (Bombus Hypnorum)

There weren't that many hoverfies, but this was a new one for me, 

I think it is Eupeodes Luniger

One of the first macro photos of an insect I took was an Ashy Mining Bee and I've never seen another since! So I was quite pleased when one of these distinctive black and white bees landed right in front of me.

It was quickly followed by another mining bee, a Tawny one

Other than at the tree, I also spotted a few ladybirds: one of the varieties of Harlequin.

And another new one for me, a Cream Spot Ladybird on a nettle

And finally a Shieldbug. I think this is a Birch Shieldbug (although the Hawthorn is similar so I may be wrong)

I'd say that wasn't a bad haul for just standing in front of a Hawthorn in blossom for a bit and waiting to see what turned up. I recommend it!!

What can I safely feed hedgehogs?