Smiles, Spider Webs and a Shieldbug

It wasn’t just ringing that we were busy with at the weekend: On Saturday we also had a party of children in exploring tracks and signs on the reserve with Roger. They had a great time – the smiles say it all!

Today was a quieter, planning and catching up day: working on a few things for our Foxglove 25 weekend on the 15th and 16th of July (save the dates!) and getting an area around one of our fire sites tidied up.

It was a cold, crisp morning and coming in for a walk Elizabeth (with the unfulfilled-today hope of finding the first primrose in flower) spotted spider webs strung with ice crystals…

…and this shield bug.

We think it’s a common green shield bug, Palomena prasina (please let us know if you know otherwise!). In the spring and summer adults of this species are bright green, but they become a darker bronze-brown, like this one, in the autumn prior to winter hibernation.