The allure of Fennel

If you like your insects then Fennel is most definitely the plant to grow.  I have a couple of plants in my small garden and both have reached about 8ft in height this year.   Not a problem until you want to photograph what's attracted to them, you end up pointing your camera to the sky, which in my opinion leads to awkward harsh light and a not too pleasing effect. Still I show a couple of real gems that have alighted this summer, a hornet, Vespa crabro, and the wasp/hornet mimic hoverfly Volucella inanis. I also get the whopping beast Volucella zonaria, in my opinion one of the UK's most spectacular flies.  Pictures aren't up to much bit a couple of insects on the northern edge of their british distribution ain't too bad. 

Hornet - Carlton Nottinghamshire, 01/08/2014

Big Hover', Volucella inanis. Carlton Notts 01/08/2014

Minotaurs, scary flies and an obliging Nuthatch

Friday 11th April and a day walking at last.  A day out at Sherwood Forest.  The weather looked set fair but with a cool breeze, so I chose a woodland walk as the shelter provided from the wind by trees would definitely make thinks seem pleasant.  First encounter of the day was a rather nice, if rather small Minotaur Beetle, Typhoeus typhaeus.  These beasts are rather common on the heath at Sherwood but being nocturnal are seldom seen. It is however easy to recognise their workings as they build rather large chambers underground, leaving good spoil heaps as signs of their tunnelling.   This chap was just starting to tunnel having found a rather fruity piece of Dog Faeces on which to feed. Undeterred camera out and a couple of photographs taken.   A difficult chap to photograph as macro lenses have very small focal lengths of 1-2 mm, this allied to a moving target makes sharp focus very hit and miss.  Out of about 20 pictures the one shown came out the best. Horns show up nicely though. 

Male Minotaur beetle perambulating on dog Poo. Sherwood Forest 11th April 2014

If you read my last blog I added a snap of my female Bullfinch taken with my Macro lens. Well as it happens I include two further shots, this time of a nuthatch again taken with a totally inappropriate lens. This chap was a rather inquisitive bird and was definitely checking me out as much as I was trying to photograph him (or her).  A beautiful bird with an almost exotic look, reminds me a little of a Kookaburra.

The scary fly of the title is a rather large Tachinid fly, Tachina ursina. Most Tachinids are parasites, laying their eggs on other insects, the larvae then devouring the live host. T. ursina is about 15 mm in length so must require a relatively large host in which the larvae can develop. It is therefore surprising that the Host is described as unknown in Belshaw's key to British Tachinids.  

Tachina ursina   Sherwood Forest 11th April 2014 

To finish this latest ramble, a photograph that to me epitomises spring, A brimstone and Dandelion.  Brimstones provide that splash of unnatural colour in April. That together with the knowledge that they have sat the winter out hibernating and still manage to look so fresh is just awesome. 

Goneopteryx rhamni - Angle wing of the Buckthorn.  Sherwood Forest 11th April 2014 

Bit of a Fly, Tachina ursina and a bit of a Weevil, Barynotus obscurus

Barynotus obscurus - Carlton Garden, Nottinghamshire 21st April 2013  

Brushing up a few leaves in my back yard this Sunday morning and swept this little beast up. Not quite your run of the mill vine weevil but another species of broad nosed weevil Barynotus obscurus. Interesting facts about these beasts are that no known males have ever been found in the UK, they are parthenogenetic (asexual reproduction in which embryonic development occurs without fertilisation). Pretty common in most herbaceous lowland areas but never found in large numbers. I generally find the odd one in my Carlton garden most years but never several in a year. I suppose if you are parthenogenetic you don't need to go looking for a mate so don't need such high densities in order to survive. Interesting parthenogenesis also occurs in vertebrates, notably some species of lizard and fish but also in some birds.   

Tachina Ursina - Budby Heath April 20th 2013

I'm not that hot on flies but this chap caught my eye while out and about yesterday, Tachina ursina, don't think it has a common English name, not that I'm too bothered about that one.  If you like flies you'll probably learn the correct latin names and just be a little bored with stupid made up English names with no relevance to their lifestyle or habits. Don't know the lifestyle of this one but if it's anything like other Tachinid flies they usually lay their eggs on lepidopteran larvae.  The Maggot then eats the fat deposits of its host until its ready to pupate. Nice!

Sp