08 Thursday Feb 2024
This little critter was hanging on to a house wall I passed yesterday. I’m fairly sure it’s a cranefly species and it might be Tipula pagana. However, although I’ve lightened it a lot, my photo doesn’t show the identifying features well enough and, according to what I’ve read, it shouldn’t be out and about at this time of year. It was certainly nice to see an insect at last, as, understandably, they are all hiding away at the moment.
31 Wednesday Jan 2024
It’s been a bit of struggle finding invertebrates this month – everything’s tucked away out of the cold and the rain – so I was very pleased to see this Red-legged shieldbug trying to hide in this little clump of Ivy berries. If it’s not careful a hungry bird will have a crunchy treat when it comes feeding on the berries.
09 Tuesday Jan 2024
Posted in insects
Tags
British flies, British hoverflies, Buff-tailed bumblebee, early invertebrate emergence, Honey bee, winter insects
Invertebrates in the winter: some warm sunshine in a sheltered spot and out they pop: my first hoverflies of the year, several species of fly, a couple of Honey bees and a queen Buff-tailed bumblebee.
I should probably add that these images were taken on Sunday, before freezing Baltic air came blasting in from the east, causing temperatures to plummet. I imagine these critters have all now taken shelter once more, in amongst dense vegetation like Ivy or within cosy holes in the earth.
earthstar 
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