a dog's life in the Tamar valley, Cornwall, PL17

the black and red frog hopper looks like a mis-shapened ladybird but is one of the spittle bug family (see link British bugs ). They are ...

It was the coldest night of the year, with a hard frost and a contemplative horse. Nevertheless, much to my surprise there were bumble...

a queen wasp fast asleep in the wood pile (and saved from the flames) and a motley collection of harlequin ladybirds

A souther hawker dragonfly. These dragonflies are very territorial, and will often hover around an intruder, providing a rare opportunity...

Something that caught our eye this morning was seed heads of grass bent over by silk. As can be seen in the bottom picture the cast-off s...

the top picture is of water crickets ( Velia caprai, see link ) bombing around. They can travel faster by spitting on the surface of the...

This cold damp bumblebee was found this morning hanging by one foot from a scabious seed head, about to fall stuporose into the meadow ...

continuing the close up season, this caterpillar was found munching on the plastic netting protecting our rosemary shrubs from the hordes ...

I thought this might be a snout moth but it may well be a member of the crambinae family and without a common name. As noted before mot...

  Every now and again one comes across something genuinely strange. This is a giant wood wasp (urocerus gigas), about 4 cms long. T...

There has been a very marked increase in the number of ant hills in the meadows. I accidentally disturbed the very top of this hill. The e...

The amazing scorpion fly. I am not quite sure what it is doing, or what it has got its head in, but they have a reputation for drinking...

one careful spider mother (probably pisaura mirabilis, the nursery spider) and dozens of babies

 a greater butterfly orchid a tattered heath fritillary a violet ground beetle

large red damselflies mating (top), a small heath butterfly (middle), and a miniature forest of marsh lousewort growing in the moss ...

 red, green, yellow and blue, everything is appearing  a tortoiseshell on ragged robin   a small skipper on campion  a f...

It has been warm, almost Spring-like today. This is the hawthorn shield bug which overwinters as an adult, and has been fooled by the mil...

a strange looking bumblebee, which, even with the help of the Natural History Museum site (see link ), I can't identify. It is probab...

We weren't the only ones to go blackberrying today. Strangely quiet without Max to fret about.

Evidence of bumblebee theft, the lower part of the petal tube of garden phlox has been stripped  away allowing easy access to the nectar.