It was the dreaded 'man coming to fit new cooker' day today . I had dental appointment in the morning , so Carol stayed in then . At lunchtime , the rolls were reversed , so I took my old camera and had a walk around the garden , as earlier , I had seen both Southern and Migrant Hawkers flying around . I found the Southern Hawker first , a male , but before I could get him in
the viewfinder , he was gone . Further down the garden , I found the Migrant Hawker , also a male , resting on a Honeysuckle . He was much more of a poser , and even allowed me to get a 
close up of his head and thorax , the powerhouse of muscle to which the two sets of wings are attached . At about 1330 , a phone call from the gas fitter saying that he would be on site at 1500 , had me heading out the doors for an hour at the Farm lake , just taking the old camera for quickness . I was welcomed by a pair of juvenile Green Woodpeckers , one of which I managed to
grab a shot of through ground vegetation . Things seemed very much the same as last visit , with
the Small Red-eyed Damselflies still chancing their arm , ovipositing in the shallows . As I watched a pair , they lifted off to lay in a different spot , and immediately got snared in the web of an Orb Spider . The vibrations alerted the spider , who headed to the pair . The damselflies were 
still in tandem when the spider arrived , but then the male , very chivalrously , released his mate , so that she could become the spider's meal , whilst he flew off , probably to look for another mate . The second lap of the lake , produced 'a very odd wasp' to quote fellow blogger Rob/The Living Isle . I would probably had some trouble identifying this one , had he not posted both male
and female Gasteruption jaculator , what a great name , on his blog on the 6th. July , this being the female showing that incredible ovipositor .
the viewfinder , he was gone . Further down the garden , I found the Migrant Hawker , also a male , resting on a Honeysuckle . He was much more of a poser , and even allowed me to get a close up of his head and thorax , the powerhouse of muscle to which the two sets of wings are attached . At about 1330 , a phone call from the gas fitter saying that he would be on site at 1500 , had me heading out the doors for an hour at the Farm lake , just taking the old camera for quickness . I was welcomed by a pair of juvenile Green Woodpeckers , one of which I managed to grab a shot of through ground vegetation . Things seemed very much the same as last visit , with the Small Red-eyed Damselflies still chancing their arm , ovipositing in the shallows . As I watched a pair , they lifted off to lay in a different spot , and immediately got snared in the web of an Orb Spider . The vibrations alerted the spider , who headed to the pair . The damselflies were still in tandem when the spider arrived , but then the male , very chivalrously , released his mate , so that she could become the spider's meal , whilst he flew off , probably to look for another mate . The second lap of the lake , produced 'a very odd wasp' to quote fellow blogger Rob/The Living Isle . I would probably had some trouble identifying this one , had he not posted both male and female Gasteruption jaculator , what a great name , on his blog on the 6th. July , this being the female showing that incredible ovipositor . I also took the opportunity to relocate a skull that I found back in the Spring , really a head at that time . In the intervening months , nature had removed all the soft tissue , leaving just the 
upper jaw and head , and the two lower jaw bones of a Badger . I wondered at the time , just what killed the animal , as the rest of the animal was nowhere to be seen , just the severed head .
upper jaw and head , and the two lower jaw bones of a Badger . I wondered at the time , just what killed the animal , as the rest of the animal was nowhere to be seen , just the severed head . And finally , I found this shot on the disc when I downloaded the others , taken on one of my 
volunteering days , and then forgotten about .
volunteering days , and then forgotten about .
1 comment:
Interesting observation of animal behaviour with the damselflies and spider, Greenie.
Good to see the odd wasp again!
Badger seems to have had good teeth.
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