On Sunday 17th June I collected from the wild a web of approx 44 Peacock larvae with the intention of breeding them through and releasing the adults. I always learn something about a species from...
https://kbalmer.blogspot.com/2018/06/peacock-parasitoids.html
I set out with GPS in hand to re-discover Green Hairstreaks populations in 1km squares not seen in at least 10 years. I found this one at Barton Hills 10m inside a target 1km square! Failed on tw...
https://kbalmer.blogspot.com/2018/05/tl0830-green-hairstreak.html
A male Brimstone at Barton Hills was making a nuisance of itself by bothering a female, who signalled her disinterest. He eventually took the hint. She went on to lay quite a few eggs on Buckt...
Took 10 minutes from doing fence repairs at Totternhoe this afternoon to snap a couple of Dukes of Burgundy. Nice to see the fruit of many years of labour continuing to thrive here.
A hot but pleasant walk in the Willington area today. Elstow Brook: Peacock on Garlic Mustard: Chicken-of-the-Woods (I presume): My first Common Blue Damselflies of the season: W...
Here's one of three Grizzled Skippers seen at a brownfield site near Lidlington. Very lively in the sunshine and this is the best that I could get. Couldn't find any earlier at MVMCP. No Dingy Sk...
Six Green Hairstreaks seen today at MVMCP along the Stewartby Lake shoreline. Very active in the heat.
A Scorched Carpet sitting on a fence post at Mowsbury Hill:
I found this cross between a Primrose and a Cowslip, making it Primula vulgaris x veris, in Chicksands Wood today. Rather attractive I think.
https://kbalmer.blogspot.com/2018/04/primula-vulgaris-x-veris.html
Sometimes you need to take a close look at something common to appreciate just how interesting it is. Here's a close-up of a Colt's-foot flower at Chicksands Wood to prove the point:
My first Green-veined White of the year (but not the county's, that was reported yesterday) at Chicksands Wood:
https://kbalmer.blogspot.com/2018/04/green-veined-white.html
A rather cold ground beetle allowed close photography on the main ride at Chicksands Wood. (They are normally far too fast for snaps like this). Sorry, I don't know the species.
As it's spring, here's my annual photo of a Green Tiger Beetle, taken at Cooper's Hill today:
https://kbalmer.blogspot.com/2018/04/green-tiger-beetle.html
A delightful stroll today in warm sunshine along Park Lane (which runs south from Cople to the Greensand Ridge path) allowed me to record 14 butterflies of four species and photograph them all: ...
Delightful slow stroll around Willington in warm spring sunshine this afternoon revealed four butterfly species (Brimstone seen but not photographed). Peacock: Small Tortoiseshell: ...
https://kbalmer.blogspot.com/2018/04/walk-around-willington.html
Time to revive my blog I think! With this prolonged winter keeping most insects in stasis I simply wandered around Priory CP this grey afternoon with my arty head on:
This Large White pupa is patiently awaiting spring inside my garage. No signs of an imminent emergence yet...
I saw a male Roesel's Bush Cricket sitting on top of long grasses with his wings raised. I presumed that he was singing as I can't hear sounds this high any more. It seems that he was indeed as a...
They say that sometimes you make your own luck. In this case it's probably true. If you take enough pictures eventually the shutter will go off at just the right moment, as here. I had just beate...
Another shieldbug species added today, this time a Spiked Shieldbug, swept from low vegetation at Priory County Park on a very warm Sunday afternoon:
https://kbalmer.blogspot.com/2017/10/shieldbug-17-spiked.html
I scored a hat-trick of new shieldbug species at Fenlake Meadows today, with Parent Shieldbug being the third, also beaten from Alder:
https://kbalmer.blogspot.com/2017/10/shieldbug-16-parent.html
I also added another shieldbug species at Fenlake Meadows, beaten from an Alder; the Bronze Shieldbug:
https://kbalmer.blogspot.com/2017/10/shieldbug-15-bronze.html
After a fruitless search for Scarce 7-spot ladybird at Maulden Wood today I popped into Fenlake Meadows on the way home to search for Blue Shieldbug which I've seen there before. Within two minut...
Just a selection of the eight or so Red Admirals on Ivy at Cople Pits NR today. Stunning!
I finally had my first Bedfordshire encounter with Ivy Bees (Colletes hedereae) today where there is a large aggregation in the paths at Cottage Bottom Fields in TL03642098.
https://kbalmer.blogspot.com/2017/09/ivy-bee-colletes-hederae.html