I was completely stuck for ideas today but made a spur of the moment decision to park near a canal on my way home and have a wander alongside it, looking out for insects or whatever else I might see. It wasn't a long walk, I didn't go far but I spent about an hour out and found quite a few invertebrates...
This one I think is a solitary bee, perhaps Lasioglossum xanthopum, the yellow footed solitary bee.
I think this is a mining bee (perhaps Andrena caratonica?)
I got two for one here, a nettle tap moth and some kind of fly.
This is a hoverfly which I think is Helophilus pendulus, know as footballer hoverflies because of the stripy thorax.
I spotted a couple of these longhorn caddisflies, Mystacides nigra.
There were lots of fish in one spot, I've no idea what kind though!
A spider with an egg sac. I always think these little black ones that you find all over the ground are wolf spiders but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
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| red headed cardinal beetle |
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| common carder bee |
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| nettle tap moth |
Last year on Day 23, by complete coincidence, I walked along the same stretch of canal! I had no idea it was year to the day when I set out today. A year ago my walk was much longer as I'd started out from home; today I parked nearby as I'm still having trouble with my feet and couldn't walk so far, plus I had other things to do at home so didn't have as much time.
You're not wrong, the spiders are indeed female wolf spiders. Easy to ID from the way they carry their egg sac around like that.
ReplyDeleteThe "some kind of fly" is an eristalis hover fly, looks like it's probably pertinax aka the tapered drone fly.
I'm not even going try to ID the fish. :-D
No, I haven't even bothered with the fish. I know brown / rainbow trout in the rivers, but that's my limit!
DeleteThanks for the fly ID and confirming the wolf spiders :)
You are very good at spotting bugs and beetles and being able to identify them too. Looks like an interesting canal side walk:)
ReplyDeleteA lovely collection of insects. Well except the spiders - they just make me shudder! X
ReplyDeleteYou take some wonderful pictures. So sorry to hear your still in pain... hopefully soon you will start to feel better. Keep resting up as much as you can xx
ReplyDelete