Japanese Knotweed

As much as I'm not keen on the invasive nature of Japanese Knotweed, at this time of year it comes into flower and the bees, and many other insects, absolutely love it. There was just one small sprig flowering over the top of the neighbouring fence, and it was humming with activity. Sadly it wasn't the easiest of vantage points, but here are a few pictures I strained to get.

 It seems hard to believe now, it was only last week and we've since had gales, but the weather was so delightful it must have been rather like late July because a few ants decided to go on a nuptial flight.

Until we meet again,

Claude

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Wasps and a not so busy bee

Over the past couple of days I've not had much time out in the garden with my camera. Frank assured me that he had credible intelligence which suggested that we should expect an invasion from a troop of anarchic badgers. So, I've actually been doing some proper work - guarding the garden from advancing mustelids. A busy bee I may have been, but I did get a chance to grab some quick pictures of some of the garden's regular visitors.


This wasp was back and forth most of the afternoon to collect water from the natural wells within the teasel. He'd fly off and return again a few moments later.

Out of the pool and into the evening sun

We have an old uprooted tree stump out in the garden. Despite it gradually being eaten away by its many visitors, we instinctively seem to use as a very rustic seat. It's a regular haunt of my current favourite visitor to the garden, the blue mason bee. I often find it, and many other small insects, sitting on it as they bask in the last of the late evening sun.

Blue mason bee (Osmia caerulescens)

There are also a lot of tiny wasps out in the garden this week. They seem perfectly fond of the tiny flowers on the Herchura.

Until next time,
Claude
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Weird and colourful Wednesday

What a strange, but interesting, day I had in the garden today. I saw a few things that I'd never seen before. I saw one thing that I'd probably be happy never to see again, at least not under a magnifying glass. This day may have been a bit gruesome in places, but it was also a very colourful day indeed.

This is, by far, my favourite UK spider - a zebra spider. It's a small jumping spider with exceptional eyesight.

Salticus scenicus

Salticus scenicus

And this is another spider being predated by a solitary wasp. It wasn't the most pleasant thing I've ever seen before my own breakfast, but it was fascinating. How the wasp managed to fly with the weight of the spider in its mandibles, I don't know.

This very colourful insect is a ruby-tailed wasp. It's sometimes thought of as 'the kingfisher of the insect world', and it's not hard to see why. This particular one was less than 1cm long but, nonetheless, because of it's striking colour it was easy to spot. As far as I know, this tiny wasp feeds on nectar, so spiders need not fear. However, it's sometimes called 'the cuckoo wasp' because it lays its eggs in the nests of solitary wasps and bees. We seem to have a lot of mason and mining bees in the garden, and solitary wasps, so it's no wonder that we also have the ruby-tailed wasp out there as well. I will try and get some much better pictures of it but I was itching to show you the pretty colours!

Ruby-tailed wasp

And whilst we're on the subject of unusually bright colour - check out this fly's eyes. Again, it was a tiny fly, but I couldn't help but notice the ummissable eyes. They seemed to follow me around the garden, and they genuinely were that colour. In fact, they probably still are that colour, unless the fly has since been eaten by something, obviously!

And this fly is either praying that it doesn't get eaten anytime soon, or applauding the sheer oddness of it all!

It's never dull in the garden, especially when the sun shines!

Until next time,
Claude
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Peacock eyes and other random things

Clearing away the aftermath of flying ant day - waste not, want not

Definitely not seen in the garden

Water droplet on nasturtium leaf

I can only assume that somebody has dropped their car keys

An apple tree gibbon

An aphid hiding in a sweetcorn plant

Also definitely not spotted in the garden

Until next time,
Claude
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Our first pondlife

Last summer the cat and the bird, following directions issued by Frank, dug a small pond. Within days we had our first water snails. Now there are hundreds of those. We soon had the first specks of blanket weed, now we have blankets of that too. As far as I'm aware there aren't any other ponds around here, and we're in quite a built up area. Yet, still they make it here somehow.


This little chap or chapess turned up last month. It stayed for a week or so and then vanished.

(Pond Skater)

(Pond Skater)

Okay, so this isn't strictly pond life but it's always worth remembering that your pond serves as a watering hole for many creatures. The pigeons around here practically go swimming in our pond.

(Common Wasp)

I will be keeping an eye out for more visitors to the pond,
Until then,
Claude
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