Sunbathing Dragonflies

 For some reason, the cycle track bridge over the A1 becomes a favourite sunbathing spot for dragonflies this time of year. 

More specifically, common darters, and even more specifically today, female common darters, three of which were out enjoying autumn sun on the bridge today, their huge brown eyes following me as I tried to get photographs. 

Most of the time, dragonflies are pretty skittish and hard to photograph, but at this time of the year with colder nights - and it was chilly last night - they take a while to warm up and are a bit more amenable to posing for irritating photographers.

The coralberry bushes were busy too today, lots of bees going like hooligans at the last of the flowers. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 23.09.25

Small Skippers are Fluttering

 Last week on our campus, the hot weather brought the emergence of the well named small skipper butterflies. 

These dinky orange butterflies with the wing arrangement that always makes them look like the flights of a dart were far too busy flying about to settle anywhere. 

Today, however, they were happy to feed off ragwort and pose for photographs. However, this was complicated by the fact there was a very strong wind blowing across the badlands, and so you had to find one sitting on a shorter plant that wasn't being blown almost flat to the ground. 

So I present to you this fine specimen. 

Also captured today was a new insect for me, albeit a common one. A red spotted parasite fly, so named for its sinister habit of paratising moth larvae. Of course, this was sitting on the stinky curry plant that seems to attract the underclass of the insect world!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 24.06.25

It's January, and Bees are about

 We've had a couple of very bright sunny days this week, not cold when the sun is shining on you, and when the air is still can you almost imagine its low yellow rays might be warming you up a little. But it was hardly tropical, indeed it wasn't even double figures.

A decent January day, in other words.

So, on my little Tourette relief walk I like to take at lunch time, inspecting the bright gorse flowers on campus, imagine my astonishment when at the back of the bush, I saw a lone honey bee making its way into the flowers, orange pollen shopping bags very visible on its legs. 

Walking back, there was another feeding off high up hazel catkins. 

A little later on, with the sun a little higher, I went out again, and there they were, in reasonable numbers. I was able to get a couple of photos, before heading further out onto the campus badlands, to where the stinking helleborine grows. 

The flowers weren't even fully open, and yet there were a few more honey bees feeding off the closed green flower bells, climbing deep inside until out of view. 

That was yesterday. They were about again today, although fewer in number in chillier temperatures. 

I've never before seen bees on the wing in January. Normally, its mid February when the crocuses are in flower that they appear. Other people have reported seeing them too. 

Have you?

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 30.01.25

Flashback to the Last Insects of the Season

 While waiting for the ground to awaken once again, with snowdrops expected in about, gosh, maybe three weeks, lets look back to the mild spell before the snow and bitter cold, and look at the last pollinator I found on the last blooms of campus. 

Also, let me introduce you to the beautiful markings of a noble false widow spider. I remember that a few years ago, the sighting of one of these faintly venomous spiders would cause entire schools to close so that anything with eight legs could be vapourised, now they are a common sigh everywhere round here. 

Hopefully you are still finding interesting things to look at where you are. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 28.11.24

A Magnificent Beast

 I was just walking along next to this coral berry hedge, when I was alerted to this fluttering commotion low down among the leaves. 

What on earth was it? I swear I thought it was a bat initially, although what a bat would be doing crashing about in a shrubbery in daylight was beyond me. But, I do have half a brain, and was able to work out reasonably quickly that what I was looking at was some kind of hawk moth. 

I watched it carefully, taking hold of my cameraphone, and praying it would settle where I could get a photograph. 

It did. 

It wasn't ideal, being somewhat tucked away, but slow as a sloth and holding my breath, I got as close to it as I could. It was a poplar hawk moth, one of the commoner hawk moth species, but not one I've ever seen in glorious reality. 

It was a magnificent beast, probably disturbed by something from its sleeping place and looking for another one. It let me take a couple of shots, peaceful and still, and then I left it to its rest. 

What a thrill it was to see it! Totally made my day. Seeing something you've never seen before is always exciting, but somehow to see this creature was more than that. 

Hope you like it.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 09.07.24

The Golden Small Skipper

 Areas of our verges at work look like alpine meadows at the moment. Who'd have though such run of the mill plants as self heal, hawkbit and white clover could create such an arresting sight. 

The bees and bumbles are, of course, loving it. 

Various species of thistle are also in flower, and it was upon one of those that I came across my first close view of a small skipper this summer. It was cool this morning, and grey as my cooking, hence the little butterfly, a little golden paper dart, was still enough to allow me to get some good photographs. 

After a bad start to the year for flutterers, it is good to see a fair few of them around now. Fairy tale burnet moths are also up now, but keeping their distance.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 02.07.24

At Last, a Brimstone

 I've commented before that this wettest of springs has not been kind to the early spring butterflies that spend the winters hibernating as imagos. I've barely seen a comma or small tortoiseshell, only the occasional peacock or red admiral, and brimstones, normally one of my harbringers of spring, have barely been up at all.

I've seen an occasional luminous lemon yellow male or white female fluttering by at a distance, and certainly nowhere near mobile phone camera range.

They normally don't let you get within five metres of them anyway. 

Imagine my surprise then, when at work, I came across a beautiful male calmly feeding off rock cranesbill, and entirely happy to let me get close range photographs. I'm guessing that it was still warming up and getting its energy together. 

So here it is, in its lovely vivid glory, just for you!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 17.05.24

Gosh, a Brimstone!

 A couple of days ago at work, on a very mild day, I was taking a breaktime stroll when I was surprised - to say the least - to see a familiar bright yellow form fluttering around the bushes.

A male Brimstone, up about five weeks earlier than I've ever seen one before, and in beautiful condition.

I think it had perhaps realised it had awoken rather too early, as it was settling much more than brimstones normally do, and seemed very keen to get back into cover perhaps to go back to sleep. 

Judging by my feeds on Instagram and Threads, I'm far from the only person to have come across one!

Have you seen any butterflies out of bed when they shouldn't be?

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 07.02.24

Autumn is Here

 It's October, one of what I think of as my two "doom" months, where wildlife and flora declines and everything goes green and brown, until December where the first snowdrops appear indicating that spring is on the way. 

I've restarted running now the cricket season is over. It was a painful and slow start, by golly gee I get so stiff now after a run compared to my younger days. But after a few weeks, I'm back under 30 minutes for 5km, so I've still got a bit of fitness left. 

It really helps with my mental health too, burning up some of that Tourette's and ADHD energy that would be otherwise used in highly constructive pursuits like waving my arms around, or hurting my already tic destroyed neck that is waking me up every morning with painful little spasms. 

The odd hirundid makes its way over the workplace, where the kestrel has resumed hunting after breeding season, and buzzards try and find thermals on the brighter days. Hopefully with the warm weekend forecast they will be able to do that.

But as thing stand now, rain is falling on the washing on my line. First world problems eh?

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 05.10.23

Autumn Views

 We never had much of a summer did we, and now it's September and it's seemingly starting after it has ended. 

There's very few flowers in bloom at work, with bristly ox tongue being the main food plant for pollinators at work. 

It is berry and seed season, and now the goldfinches are flocking again, ransacking the teasel heads and making a heck of a racket while they are at it. 

I'm enjoying whatever colour is left.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 03.09.23

Moar Butterflies

 About the only day the sun managed to show its big yellow face last week, two things that had changed in the world of butterflies locally were revealed.

1) A big migration of red admirals had arrived.

2) There was a mass emergence of second flight peacocks.

(There's also a third, I suppose - I'm wondering if some of the small skippers I'm seeing are actually essex skippers)

They are particularly fond of flowering teasel and clearly don't mind the prickles!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 24.07.23