I never know what I am going to find in my kitchen. A couple of days ago it was:
a small beetle, a Lagria hirta. Photo taken with a cheap DooGee Note 58 Android phone. For just under £100 the phone was really excellent value, though unfortunately no longer available. BTW: I identified it using the Google photo search which I find to be quite useful from time to time.
As I took down my weather satellite aerial and was about to move the base off the lawn I spotted a black beetle:
A small crop of a quick photo with the iPhone:
At least it stayed in view while I fetched the Nikon compact camera and managed to take a few more photos. These shots are all small crops from the originals.
I am pretty sure this is a diving beetle going by the size (about 8mm), colour, shape and the length of the back legs. I wonder what it was doing out of the pond. I understand they are good fliers so it probably fancied a change of environment.
A Painted Lady spent ages feeding on my Lavender bushes.
It never stopped moving so I only managed a few record shots.
The first I have seen since the last big influx in 2009
I have many House Sparrow families around the building.
Here a fledgling was being fed.
As I lifted the lid of my green waste wheelie bin I spotted
a small black beetle which I managed to photograph before it ran away.
Size about 8mm and much shinier than the photo shows.
So far I have failed to identify it.
When I went to clean out one of Penny's stainless steel bowls a few days ago my attention was caught by a tiny beetle scurrying round it. In the sunlight it was shimmering green or blue, depending how the light caught it:
To say the least it was very difficult for the pocket Nikon to focus as it rarely stayed still and at maybe 6mm long it was a very small target.
The nearest I can get with identification is the Green Dock Beetle Gastrophysa viridula.
Bedtime, final visit to the bathroom. About to switch the light off. Look down to see a shiny black shape ambling across the bathroom floor. Do I capture it or photograph it? Silly question, grab the pocket Nikon, flash raised:
A Common Black Ground Beetle about 15mm, 1/2 inch, long waiting patiently until I had finished.
Next, take it back outdoors where it belongs. Went to the kitchen and fetched an empty jar kept for such occasions. Back to the bathroom in time to see it disappearing from view. Just as I was about to give up it reappeared at top speed scurrying back across the bathroom floor. Managed to plonk the upturned jar over it and slide a piece of cardboard underneath. Captured. Unlock the doors I had secured for the night. Gently tip beetle on the lawn, followed by the four legged supervisor to see what was going on. Wildlife back where it belonged. Lock up again and so to bed.
It was time to replace an old wooden planter which has stood next to the pond for more than a decade. The wood was beginning to rot but what to replace it with? I had had my eye on a wishing well planter for a while and finally got round to ordering one. It arrived by courier on Saturday morning so I set about assembling it. I had wondered just how much assembly would be needed but there were only 15 parts and sections which needed screwing and bolting together as some sections we pre-assembled. In a bit less than an hour there it was ready to put in place:
Then came the task of dismantling the old planter and finding some wood to make a shallow stand to raise it up a bit. That was when I found the minibeasts sheltering under rotting wood:
Among the dozens of woodlice was a rather splendid beetle:
Seeing how the wishing well would look in its chosen spot next to the pond:
At home on its shallow stand which has spaces underneath for frogs and newts to shelter:
Now all I have to do is buy some more compost and a few plants to finish it off.
To finish off here, here is some hand held video of the minibeasts:
All in all a satisfactory day with afternoon Sunshine and the temperature reaching 16C. I ended up wearing jeans and a short sleeved shirt as it was really warm working where I was sheltered from any cooling breeze.
After a wet morning and evening I was almost certain to meet something on the path when Bobby went out for his last wander round the garden before bedtime. Sure enough there it was - a black beetle scurrying along. It froze as soon as it felt my footsteps and luckily for me, and for you, it stayed in the same place long enough for me to fetch the Lumix and take a few photos.
Rove Beetle:
There are many different types of Rove Beetle. This one was about 20mm long. One thing which distinguishes them from other beetles is the short elytra - the hard covering over the wings. It is so short that they are able to curve their bodies up like a scorpion when threatened. They don't sting but can give a painful bite. Unlike many other beetles I have found in my garden they belong to the good guys as they feed on smaller insects, some of which are pests on crops.
More details of this successful (having been around for a good 200 million years) beetle can be found on the Just Green web site HERE.
As I was about to lock up the shed before our afternoon walk I spotted something brilliant red climbing up the edge of the shed door. Luckily it stayed long enough to grab the camera and take its portrait. This pretty beetle is about 10mm in length.
It appears to be an example of lilioceris lilii (the Red Lily Beetle) which is very destructive to many bulbous lily plants as both the adults and larvae feed on the leaves, flowers and stems of the plant. At one time they were confined to the south of England but with the rise in average temperatures they have spread northwards. Certainly it was not very far away from one of my containers which is planted with lilies.
If your lilies are being attacked by these pretty little beetles then it may be worth looking at Down Garden Services web site where more detailed information about them can be found.
I gave my lily plants the once over and have not detected any eggs or larvae so far so the pest may have only arrived recently in my garden.
