Saw an beautiful unusual moth yesterday in our garden, a Jersey Tiger Moth 'Euplagia quadripunctaria' (try saying that quickly!). An orange, black and white one but unfortunately couldn't get a photo.
Finally a new bee species for the garden. It's been ages since I've been able to add one. Some kind of sharp tailed bee but not sure which yet. My bee guide is locked in the office with my wife and my camera, hence the phone photo
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
@wild edges always great to have a new species in the garden and I have to admit of never seeing a sharp tailed bee before.
You have to keep a sharp eye out for them
I think I've narrowed this one down to being a Shiny-Vented Sharp-Tailed Bee but only by some hints in the guide that say it's been recorded on bramble flowers (which is what it was on) and that it parasitises leaf cutter bees (which are nesting in the bee boxes at the moment). I can't find many local records for any sharp-tailed bees though so I'll be staking out the bramble patch tomorrow to get better photos. Another case of bee hotels providing for a wider ecosystem than just the target bees though.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Posts
@wild edges always great to have a new species in the garden and I have to admit of never seeing a sharp tailed bee before.
If I had control of the lock the kids would be on her side of the door not mine.
Fantastic photos both.
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful