The Curmudgeonly Old Bugger is born...

Before we get into this, I want to apologise dear reader if the text is messy regards some being centred, some ranged etc. Blogger is playing silly buggers again and I have no control!

I am going to be honest and upfront about the fact that this update is going to be something different. You may, or may not like the change, but it's only something I plan to include occasionally and as Coco Chanel once said: “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” - I "should Coco, Coco!" 

The seed for this was planted in a little comment from an old friend on social media recently, who, when I myself commented that I didn't care for something, wrote this..."Yes, but you are just a curmudgeonly old bugger!"

I had to agree, there are things about everyday life that 'get my goat'. So why not create another blog where I could vent all these issues? I soon had second thoughts about that one though - who wants to read a blog where the author just rants! 

As a compromise, I decided I would trial something I am calling a blog within a blog. Here then is update number one of...

 David Attenborough!

Holy crap JJ! You are never going to begin by ripping into a national treasure, surely? Not exactly no. I wouldn't dare. And besides, Sir David has single-handedly done more to make us aware of the natural world and its frailties than any other human I can think of. BUT, take a look at this very short video if you will...

Cute kids asking Sir David questions on BBC Breakfast recently. That's cool. But David...it's what you say in reply that irks me somewhat. Perhaps your memory is failing in your dotage? Or were you just trying to protect youngsters from the facts? You have immense knowledge; you know about spiders. You have one named after you in Australia. You must therefore know that it simply isn't true that "there are no spiders in the UK that will bite you". 

Okay, we can discuss just how many there are, but isn't it incontrovertible that there are some? Let's take a look at some of the evidence shall we. You were appearing on the BBC: here is a piece on spiders from that very organisation...

The tabloid press would have us believe that there are many more biting spiders in the UK...

I think we can put our trust in The Natural History Museum though...

Then there is the much-respected British Arachnological Society view...

And so Sir David, can we agree that whether its three, twelve, or fifteen, there are SOME that can bite! 

Apologies to anyone outside of the UK who probably won't have a clue as to what that normal service picci is all about. See HERE for answer: but not now eh? 

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It can be tricky to know what to blog about at times. Sometimes however, a subject literally drops down from the sky. The following photo might help explain...

That white area is my notepaper where I had been writing down ideas for this update, when suddenly this tiny critter dropped out of the air (ok, so sky was stretching it a bit) and although it was minute, I didn't immediately recognise that a*se! I tried to get a better picture with my kit lens, but couldn't get close enough of course...

Time to get out the macro kit and snap a few more images...

It looks a little similar to this don't you think?

Not really JJ, no. That's a micro-moth isn't it?

Well yes, it is actually, and my little visitor was not a moth.

Trichadenotecnum sexpunctatum. If nothing else it'd use up all of your scrabble letters. I managed a 16-letter word: 'Counterstatement', can you do any better?  Trichadenotecnum sexpunctatum is what I think this could be. I say think because there are several similar ones and I am no expert on Barkflies. I think I am on solid ground by naming it as a Barkfly; but couldn't say for definite which one. Sure is a pretty little beggar compared to most I have seen though. Oh, there was that cool little nymph I found a few years back...

Meanwhile, this cool little juvenile jumping spider appeared in the house recently...

It couldn't have been much more than 3mm at a guess and so not sure of species; Fencepost Jumping Spider perhaps.

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Erm, I want to take a moment here to thank the anonymous person who left such a lovely comment on my last blog update...

Not only was it a joy to receive and read, but unbeknown to the poster of this comment was the fact that it was  the one thousandth comment on my blog!

Just before I get my coat, I teased you with the micro-moth, saying it looked similar to the Psocid (Barkfly) which of course was kinda tenuous really. However, I do have another choice that I would like to substitute, and is more deserving of being labelled as a lookie-likie...

Leaving aside the fact that this particular one is greenish in colour; there are definite similarities. Both have  kind of bug-eyes, both have long antennae and both fold their wings over their backs in a kind of tent fashion.

This is not a Psocid though: rather a Psyllid. Psyllids are known as Jumping Plant-lice. By the way, you may be interested to know that there are two distinct groups of Psocids: species that occur outdoors are known as Barkflies, and those that are only recorded indoors are Booklice.

And so now it really is time to put this update to bed. One final thought, I wonder how this year has been for Damselflies? Locally I have to say, it has been very poor. Sightings are way down. I think these two mating White-legged Damselflies might well be the only ones I photographed this year...

How to write a good blog...

Erm.....
I just wanted to begin a bog entry with that word! I've been reading about the 'correct' way of writing a blog and apparently, you should always get right to the point of the blog and always be decisive, never hesitant.
I've always fought against people telling me the right way to do things, after all it's all subjective? It's my blog? One person's right way might not suit the next?
Oh bugger! Now I've broken the other rule about not getting to the point!
Best crack on then, whilst you're still there..

You'll now be rolling around laughing at my pre-amble no doubt (if not then humour me) and so whilst I'm tickling your funny-bone, I couldn't resist a quick photo when I passed this sheep when out walking t'other day...

What I've always wondered about sheep is:why is there only one word to describe singular and plural? I'm trying to think of another British animal that has the same for both? 

CLICK ON ANY PHOTO FOR A LARGER VIEW

Eriocrana subpurpurella

The weather is still unfavourable in the main but we've been lucky enough to get a few hours of sunshine here and there, and that has been the time when I've been out with the camera and I've been able to find a few interesting things. The early moths are a welcome sight and this golden winged beauty was a nice find. Good numbers of these are appearing around oak trees now-it's a species that I usually see around the first week of April. But as with the cuckoo, that was also later this year and the damselflies which I've yet to find, it seems we may be a little behind here.

An even better find at the same location was the moth pictured below;this moth is the same species but the more uncommon form 'fastuosella' that has these wonderful dark blue, metallic blotches on its wings.

Eriocrana subpurpurella f.fastuosella

My ladybird sightings have consisted of almost exclusively 7-spots but I did see this 24-spot recently. These are one of our smaller ladybirds at around 3-4mm and are vegetarians. I've also read that it's unusual because it seldom has wings. It has a fine covering of hairs that makes it appear duller than most too.

A 24-spot Ladybird

Last year I photographed one of these that had just emerged and had yet to gain its spots: all ladybirds emerge without spots and then acquire them in the first few hours.

A freshly emerged 24-spot Ladybird

Whilst checking Jack-by-the-hedge for brassica bugs, I found this little sawfly-I'm not sure of species on this one but possibly Dolerus species? This one is a natural light shot.

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Here's another of those 'can you identify' type pictures to ponder...

Any ideas?

Here's another big clue-does this help at all?

If you're still unsure as to what the top photograph is, then take a look at these profile shots...

Yes, these are Alderfly eggs. I visited local lakes a couple of days ago to look for early damselflies (non to be seen) and spotted these eggs in huge numbers. They were on most of the reeds beside the lakes and each batch contained, I guess close to one thousand ova. They must be expecting a high rate of predation once the larvae emerge and drop into the water. I know that they can take up to two years to mature and so I guess numbers will deplete during that time, otherwise we'd be overrun with these insects.

 Amazing how regimented they are

A side-on view 

A close-up

Like many aquatic insects, the adult life of alderflies is short – just a week or two from the time they emerge in late April to the end of June. By contrast the larvae live underwater for around 2 years, or occasionally three.
 The dark brown adult alderflies, which carry their wings folded in the shape of a tent over their backs, emerge from ponds, rivers and lakes in spring and early summer to mate and lay their eggs.

This last photo shows the alderfly actually in the process of egg-laying.

Even though my bug-hunting days have been few and far between through April, there is so much to see on the good days now that for once I have quite a bit more that I could share with you. However, nobody wants to spend too long reading a blog and so what I think I'll do is call it a day and then perhaps add another entry in the next few days. Call it a second instalment-it consists of photographs that were all taken over the same period and so will supplement this entry nicely. 

Until the next time then...