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earthstar

~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Category Archives: insects

Bee volcanoes

06 Wednesday Apr 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British bees, mining bee nests, mining bees, solitary bee nests, solitary bees, tiny piles of dirt

I can’t take the credit for the title of today’s post: by sheer coincidence, after returning from a walk with photos of these tiny dirt mountains, I spotted a tweet about the mini volcanoes of the bee Andrena fulva, and it seemed a very appropriate description. Mine may not be the work of that same bee species but they do indicate where solitary bees have dug out nest burrows for their young. I’m not sure whether these bee volcanoes are from newly hatched bees emerging from their winter nests or these volcanoes have only recently been excavated for the adult bees to lay this year’s eggs.

220406 solitary bee nest (1)
220406 solitary bee nest (2)
220406 solitary bee nest (3)
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First female

01 Friday Apr 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

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Tags

Brimstone, Brimstone butterfly, British butterflies, female Brimstone, spring butterflies

This pale lime beauty was my sixteenth Brimstone of the year (I saw my first on 27 February) but she was the first female, and the first to stay still long enough for a few photos. Male Brimstones usually emerge first from their winter hibernation (as adults) and can be seen flying purposefully up and down hedgerows, footpath edges and woodland rides, searching for females, which emerge a little later than their male suitors.

220401 brimstone

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First Holly blue

28 Monday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

blue butterfly, British butterflies, butterfly, Celastrina argiolus, Holly blue

I’ve skipped a few butterfly firsts but all the species I see will get their turn over time. Today, I am simply too excited at seeing my first Holly blue of the year to choose anything else, as there’s just something extraordinary about a butterfly this colour.

220328 holly blue

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He’s arrived!

26 Saturday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Angle shades moth, British moths, moth, Phlogophora meticulosa

I am delighted to announce that, 32 days after he pupated, Colin the Angle shades moth has hatched (I keep calling him Colin for convenience but he could in fact be a she, a Colleen).

220326 colin moth (2)

Isn’t he gorgeous? Beautifully mottled in shades of brown, beige, peach and green, for camouflage. I offered him the outside this morning, put him on the window ledge, but there’s a cool wind blowing and he made no move. So, he’s back in his jar until the air warms up and he has the strength to make his way in the world.

220326 colin moth (1)

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As busy as a beetle

19 Saturday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Tags

beetle, British beetles, busy as a beetle

An idiom we often use to describe someone who has a lot to do is ‘as busy as a bee’ but have you ever watched a beetle going about its everyday chores? They can be just as busy as bees.

220319 beetle

With over 4000 species of beetle in Britain, it’s almost impossible to identify them with examining their genitals (!), so I haven’t even tried to put a name to this little one. I simply enjoyed watching the sun catch its glimmering carapace as it beetled busily along.

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Bee-flies are go!

18 Friday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

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Tags

Bee-fly, Bombylius major, British bee-flies, Dark-edged bee-fly, signs of spring

Actually, keen-eyed bee-fly fanciers have been spotting these fuzzy little beasties for a week or so now, and by 14 March, 14 records – all in England – had been entered in to the recording system. And yesterday, in warm sunshine and alongside a sheltered footpath with plenty of flowering Lesser celandine, I finally saw my first bee-fly of the year. This is a Dark-edged bee-fly (Bombylius major); although there are other species in Britain, this is the only species local to me.

220318 bee-fly

For everything you might ever want to know about bee-flies, there’s a fantastic presentation The A to Z of Bee-flies on the FSC Biodiversity channel on YouTube.

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Second Peacock

17 Thursday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British butterflies, butterfly, Peacock, Peacock butterfly

Finally a butterfly that settled long enough for a photo. This Peacock was my fifth butterfly, third species for 2022.

220316 peacock butterfly

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Sunbathing bugs

16 Wednesday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

British bugs, Common Green Shieldbug, Coreus marginatus, Dock bug, Dolycoris baccarum, Hairy shieldbug, Palomena prasina

The shallow bowl shape of the leaves of Winter heliotrope were perfect for the bugs enjoying Monday’s warm spring sunshine. In one small sheltered area I found several Common green shieldbugs (Palomena prasina) . . .

220316 common green shieldbug

two Hairy shieldbugs (Dolycoris baccarum) . . .

220316 hairy shieldbug

and two Dock bugs (Coreus marginatus).

220316 dock bug

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Another percher

14 Monday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Tags

Andrena flavipes, bee on finger, British bees, mining bees

How lucky am I? After blogging last week about my delight at having a hoverfly sit on my hand, I’ve had another tiny percher. This time it was a bee, possibly a Yellow-legged mining-bee (Andrena flavipes), but don’t quote me on that. It was reluctant to fly off, as it was a cool day, so I carried it along with me until I got to a willow with open catkins, which my little flying friend was happy to move on to.

220314 bee on finger

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Perched

09 Wednesday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Tags

British hoverflies, Eristalis species, hoverfly, hoverfly on hand

I’ve always been envious of people who manage to entice insects to sit on their hand / head / shoulder etc. You know what I mean – those photos on social media of a butterfly / dragonfly / moth etc seemingly content to perch for several minutes on a finger or palm or even face. So, I was exceedingly chuffed a couple of days ago when this Eristalis species of hoverfly graced my hand with its presence, even staying long enough for me to reach into a pocket for my camera and take a few photos. A special moment!

220309 eristalis

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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Recent blog posts

  • Lily beetle April 8, 2026
  • First bee-flies April 7, 2026
  • Bloody-nosed beetle April 6, 2026
  • Gorse and its weevil April 5, 2026
  • Chiffchaffs chiffchaffing April 4, 2026

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