When the Sun Comes Out

Saturday, June 4th 2016

There has not been too much sun on the east of the country over the last few days, nor has it been very warm.  When the sun does come out the temperature rises and the invertebrates make the most of it.

Gorse is bright yellow all over the reserve and the flowers are providing food for snails and slugs.  They deserve it after clambering over the spikes!  The flowers are also suitable places for carnivores to lie in wait.  You can see the jaws on this Soldier Beetle.

Spiders can hide in the flower petals and build their webs across the stems.  This is a crab spider.  Once disturbed it scuttled away, moving just like a crab would.

Another spider hiding in waiting, with its web needing repair, was a Cucumber Spider.

Gorse Seed Weevils are busy and possibly, over a large number of years may reduce the amount of Gorse that grows.  I don't think that the volunteers will be out of work cutting it back in certain areas any time soon though!

Tree Bumble Bees are being seen in increasing numbers, in the area and on the reserve, and this one was caught visiting a vetch flower.

Once the sun disappears so too do the invertebrates.  Cercopis vulnerata are just starting to hatch and can be found sheltering on leaves.  The black and red colouration is a warning to predators.

Hidden amongst the vegetation on a Bogbean flower was a female Orange Tip butterfly.  Sometimes you can remove a piece of grass or a leaf, but trying to remove the stigma of the flower, close to water, was not an option!

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