Inverts at last...

Today was the first for ages when I felt comfortable with taking the camera out on my walks.
No snow overnight and a partial thaw.


To my delight (and surprise) I found a few inerts about today. A good number of 16-Spot Ladybirds that seemed to be quite active and feeding on the mildew on a row of fenceposts. A couple of small Leafhoppers as well as the Pea Weevil that I photographed and have added below.


These are tiny Weevils as you'll be able to tell from the disguarded metal clip that it's sitting on in the photo, the clip is 1.5mm wide.


Abundant in grassy places they nibble holes in the edges of peas, clover etc.

                                                                      

Back home, this little one turned up in the bath this evening.

A Cellar Spider (Pholcidae) - Pholcus phalangioides. Sometimes called Daddy Long-legs although this name also seems to apply to both Harvestmen and Crane Flies.

When they are disturbed or when they are under a threat of attack, they start vibrating in their web violently to scare off and discourage their enemy. Therefore, they are also known by yet another common name of vibrating spiders.




Photographed with a microscope objective.