To Russia with love...

On the 18th of next month, it will be my tenth anniversary of writing this blog. A lot has changed during those ten years: My writing style has developed (for the better I hope), I'm closing in on 300 blog posts and something like 18000 words.

When I was checking my blog stats recently, I was amazed to see that Russia headed the list of most views...

It's also rewarding when people are recommending my blog to others...

Anyhow, enough self-aggrandisement. Let's crack on with this update;

Autumn can be a quieter time for finding subjects to include in my blog updates, most things have either completed their life-cycle by now, or have hibernated until spring. If you look back over past autumn/winter posts, you will see that they often feature..........spiders! This update won't be bucking that trend, and so please take this as advanced warning?

By the way, you do know that even though you probably hate the little buggers and find them 'disgusting', we are doomed without them: we are told by the scientists that man could not survive without spiders.

Cut the spider talk and show us a pretty picture JJ!

"Well I like it! Beech tree leaves."

'This species is classed as Nationally Scarce Notable B' - That's what I read when I researched one of the finds I had on one very special day last week. I have found this critter a few times in the past but it's always a joy to behold. What am I talking about? 'Platyrhinus resinosus', that's what... 

Also known as Cramp-Ball Fungus Weevil (Larvae of P. resinosus have been found in the Cramp-Ball fungus) and even King Alfred’s Cakes Weevil, this has to be one of the United Kingdom's strangest beetles. By the way, that tiny blue creature far right is a Lepidocyrtus species springtail (Collembola).

 

Love this pose: just how my little doggie sits sometimes!

Before we all get carried away with excitement though; a word from the excellent 'UK Beetles' on this species:

 In the UK this species is classified as nationally scarce (B) but there appears to have been an increase in both range and abundance over recent years and this is probably no longer appropriate.

It is locally common across south and central England and South Wales in wooded habitats, including parkland and gardens.

Adults have a long season, we have recorded them in January, persisting into late summer or autumn, they can often be found active or at rest during the day on fallen timber or logs etc. but may be cryptic to the inexperienced eye as they resemble bird droppings.

Exactly how I found this one, beside a wood, under a fallen ash branch.

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Another find from the same day? Certainly, I have plenty...

Bruchus rufimanus

Sometimes known as the 'Broad Bean Weevil' (or Broad Bean Beetle). At about 5 mm, this is the largest species in the genus Bruchus. The elytra are grey-brown, flecked with white, and are shorter than the body.

The antennae are orange at the base, and whilst the front legs are reddish, the middle legs are black. When these weevils feel threatened they have a clever trick to escape predation: they play dead...

Now this is what a Flat-backed Millipede should look like...

But I recently found a white one...

How is it that there is, as far as I know, not a white millipede; and yet this one is definitely very pale. Well because it must have only just moulted and the pale colour is teneral. It will gradually take on a darker tone as the new exoskelton hardens. 

I suppose we should get the spider thing out of the way right? 

Actually there should be nothing scary about this; it is in fact one of the most beautifully marked spiders I have seen...

This is 'Araneus diadematus', the Garden Spider. The spider is mature from summer to autumn. After mating, the female builds a silken cocoon in which she lays her eggs. She protects this egg sac until she dies in late autumn. The spiderlings hatch the following May.

As I only spotted this a few days ago, and we are already well into autumn, I would think she will not last much longer. 

Here's something you'll probably enjoy more; who doesn't like ladybirds? If you cannot enjoy the pictures for whatever reason, at least have fun with the scientific name of 'Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata'...

The 22-spot ladybird is just 3-4mm in length. I spotted (pun intended) this one in my garden two days ago. Don't waste time counting the spots by the way, there aren't 22!

The default mystery object that is...

I know what it could be related to but...not exactly what it is; do you?

Actually, whilst we are doing weird, look at these very strange fungi...

Odder than a very odd thing that seems odd even to an odd person right? 

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Good things come in threes don't they? So how about a third oddity to complete this update: this one is in the form of a video that I took using my phone at full zoom (x8) and so quailty is pretty awful, but what the heck is going on here? Whatever it is, it's minute, and was on a horse-chestnut tree...

(once again, you will need to be online to view this vid: too big to show in e.mailed version)

American Pie anybody?

long, long time ago, but I can still remember how that music used to make me smile, and I knew if I had my chance that I could make those people dance and maybe they'd be happy for a while...

But then I thought, sod it! What have they ever done for me? And so I flung off my John Travolta white suit and settled down to write this blog update...

And you can stop laughing at the thought of JJ in a white suit thank-you! It's stemming the flow of my creative juices. 

Here we go then, it's Saturday November 221st as I write and...oh hang on, not 221st that would be ridiculous, 21st was what I meant. Looking out the window I feel that bug-hunting might have to be put on hold for a while? 

   

                A couple of participation photos to begin this update. We'll start  with...

           You must name the species from the silhouette, good luck.Fingers on buzzers!

                               

Too easy huh...thought it might be. Try this for something a little more taxing... 

      

Me? Haven't a clue. Alright I have an idea about the second one, and of course I know what the first one is because there would be little point in me setting a quiz that I didn't hold the answer too. 

Weevily type weevil thingies next...

I suppose you'll be wanting me to identify these weevils for you? Okay, how's this. The first two are the same and the second one isn't. 

A little bit of...

I was able to keep a watch on the sawfly larva I found at a local pond as it was on a small alder shrub and never did move from the one leaf I first spied it on. It grew into quite an impressive thing before disappearing from sight overnight...

Cimbex connatus-A Large Alder Sawfly Larva (Hymenoptera)

An instance of my perceived weirdness now. What would most people do when they find a dead wasp in the window do you think? I'm guessing something a world apart from what I chose to do. Namely, use the opportunity to get a stacked image of the beast. Good fun but I wish I'd made a better fist of it. Not enough light!

What do I mean by not enough light? Let me re-phrase it, it was too dark! The longer explanation would be that I was trying to manage with natural light from the window only.However, I should have gone with my gut and not the camera's light sensor as I did. The lack of available (and even) light has resulted in a loss of clarity. 

That's okay though, life is a learning curve isn't it. If not then this is...

Actually, mine can be a bit more like this...

I have a problem. You see, ever since I ot this new laptop, the letter 'G' has been stickin . If you ive it a ban  it sometimes works, but  od! I  ets so frustrated banin  it.
Now I don't mean to be a  rouch, or a  rump about this. I am trying to be grown-up. Gosh! it worked that time, perhaps it is  radually improvin  ?

 onna i nore it and carry on re ardless...

A long, long time ago, but I can still remember, because it was January this year when I found this...

I thought at the time that it was a spider egg sac but wasn't sure and had no idea of species. Somebody suggested walnut orb-weaver possibly. Anyhow, I managed to find it again, it was early March and by this time the eggs inside and indeed, developing spiderlings were starting to show...

By the third week of March, they had emerged...

I think these could well be walnut orb-weaver spiderlings. Here's a single individual...

Well the first of these two pictures above is definitely slime mould but is the second fungi too? What else could it be?

I'll leave you to ponder that but please...don't lose any sleep over it? Meanwhile, here's an image I constructed from the patterns of a small tortoiseshell butterfly...

Until the next time...

Something a little different...

I thought I'd try and ring the changes and make this update a little different and so I am going to include a couple of things that I haven't tried before. Firstly though, I have no fresh news on the Death's-head Hawkmoths yet. I did however mean to include a close-up shot of their amazing clawed feet.

Hmmm...sorry, but this is how my mind works, just by writing the word 'feet' has reminded me of a recent conversation about the bible saying that insects have four feet? Hang on...I'll see if I can find a reference to the actual wording?

Here you are:

Lev. 11:20-3 All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.

What do we all think about this? It's a rhetorical question by the way and not supposed to elicit a response, merely to ask you to have a think about it. Watch out for the fowl creeping about on all fours too.

Here's the photograph then...

Whilst ambling around one of my favourite haunts, Comfort's Wood recently.....Ooops! Here I go again, I have a new blog dedicated to these woods now and will include a link at the end of this post for anyone that might be interested. Erm...oh yes, Walking around the woods I saw lots of Common Darter dragonflies and it seemed a good idea (at the time) to have a go at catching one taking flight in slow-motion. I have a little Pentax camera that films in high speed to allow playback in slo-mo and this is the result of my first attempt...

You will need to view the blog online rather than the emailed version that doesn't show videos. You might also like to turn your sound on as this clip has a little toon added. But I understand that some of you don't like music behind the videos.

                       



Here's another using the same camera, of a honey bee in the garden-again slow motion with music...

Apologies for the annoying ads on this clip-you can delete them though.

Also in the garden I spotted a late season vapourer moth fluttering around. You might remember this flightless female from a while go...

Well this time it was a male...

But look closely at this picture and you might notice something underneath the moth.It was actually being attacked by a spider. I can't be certain but I think it might be a winter spider (Zygiella x-notata) and once I had realised what was taking place, I switched to video...

                      

Even if I had wanted to, it was too late to save the moth and after all, spiders have to eat too. I left nature to take its course.

The other thing I had a go at recently was underwater videoing. This isn't the most riveting nature film you'll ever see, but we all have to start somewhere and it was more about trying out the camera and technique  for now...

The camera did come out of the water with a little visitor attached though-I think this is a bloodworm...

I'll end this update with a couple of things pretending to be something else -well why not? I pretend to be a photographer. These two seem to be impersonating an owl...

Obviously the second picture is of fungi. The first is actually a moth.

Until the next time...

My Comfort's Wood Blog is HERE

Ps. My latest article for The Wealden has been published and I have added to the relevant page.