Bugs and Ladybirds

Off to Foxhill Farm again today with only ne real objective: to find and photograph the spider Diaea dorsata. I did find a specimen but it was very tiny, perhaps only half-grown. However I did come across some creatures of interest.

This Orange Ladybird, Halyzia 16-guttata, was on ivy. Once rather scarce and confined to ancient woodland it is now spreading, having apparently developed a liking for aphids on sycamore and ash. But although now quite common, but it was new to the farm and rather pleasing.

This Orange Ladybird was on dead wood beneath trees.

Foxhill Farm, 25 September, 2018

The bug Corizus hyoscyami has also experienced a large widening of its range in recent years. It is often referred to as the Cinnamon Bug, but I am at a loss to understand why.




Snug in my sweep net, a Cinnamon Bug. I released it after

the photograph. On nettles, Foxhill Farm, Badby. 25 October.

I returned home laden with specimens and noticed that an unmentionable pair of my wife's garments had blown off the washing line. They had been on the ground for several hours and when I picked them up...

Choosing only the finest silk! Stefen Hill, Daventry. 25 October, 2018

… I found that a Garden Cross Spider had decided they would make an admirable place for its cocoon of eggs. I removed both spider and eggs and put them beside a crevice in the garage wall, but I fancy they're doomed. 'Doomed I tell ye. Doomed!'