It was just a little bit warmer this afternoon, and there were a few more insects out. There were quite a few things basking and exploring on the trunk of the aspen tree just by the access path, including this noon fly, Mesembrina meridiana. Note the shiny thorax and yellow feet as well as the orange wing patches.
A bit further along there were insects on the hedge parsley as well, starting with this male Epistrophe eligans. I have now seen several of this species around the access trail, as well as my first one at RSPB Tudeley car park at the start of April.
and this is probably Eupeodes luniger, the commonest of a number of very similar species.
Next I found an oak apple type gall, that had developed on the tip of a twig:
and there were a lot of insects on the oak tree trunk - this has finally come up trumps! Most obvious were several common wasps, Vespula vulgaris, wandering over the rough surface.
and here he or she is, highly magnified, disappearing underneath a ledge of bark!
And then his or her head appeared from under the other side of the bark scale:
A bit further along there were insects on the hedge parsley as well, starting with this male Epistrophe eligans. I have now seen several of this species around the access trail, as well as my first one at RSPB Tudeley car park at the start of April.
and this is probably Eupeodes luniger, the commonest of a number of very similar species.
Next I found an oak apple type gall, that had developed on the tip of a twig:
and there were a lot of insects on the oak tree trunk - this has finally come up trumps! Most obvious were several common wasps, Vespula vulgaris, wandering over the rough surface.
and here he or she is, highly magnified, disappearing underneath a ledge of bark!
And then his or her head appeared from under the other side of the bark scale:
This photo was taken a little later, and might, or might not, be the same insect.
There were also some small Andrena bees. There were several insects, perhaps not of all the same species. This is a better than usual sideways view of one of the individual bees, a male I assume (all the insects I saw were I think males). White moustache, whitish hairs under reddish hairs on the thorax, slightly shiny back to the front sections of the abdomen. Silvery orange hairs on the legs, a bit variable. The other pictures show more or less the same features, from different angles.
And here was this rather smart fly, a bit like a blowfly.
and this other familiar fly with an orange abdomen. According to Ophrys this could be Phaonia subventa a common fly, as suggested by its wing venation and colour pattern. How lucky I am to be able to use ispot!
and finally my second sighting of an Eristalis intricarius. Would it be fanciful to think it might be the same individual of a few weeks ago, perhaps having changed colour over the intervening period?
Just shows what a little sunshine can do!
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