Frequent rain showers.
A nice close shot of Amblyteles armatorius. Each flower-cluster of the Angelica is about 3 cm. across, so gives some sense of scale.
I found this dead Eristalis on Spear Thistle. It's in a very awkward position and some of the spines penetrate the fly. We've had a lot of high wind recently, and I suspect the hoverfly has been impaled on the spikes and then died.
Many Willows are showing leaf damage. Turn over a leaf and we find the guilty party - Gastrophysa viridula - the Green Willow Leaf Beetle. The larvae eat from the lower leaf surface and the top surface dies as a result.
At first I thought "Rhyssa persuasoria" for this very large (6cm.) Ichneumon, but it isn't quite large enough, and doesn't have the blue spots along the abdomen. I'm vaguely aware of another Rhyssa family member, so perhaps I'll get an id soon.
A magnificent beast, either way.
And this is at the other end of the scale. A tiny (8mm.) Ichneumonid with a red abdomen.
There were a few of these Collybias growing at the edge of the Heather.
Another shot of the tiny (1cm.) bee that's been making an appearance on the Angelica.
I've been watching this dark Hoverfly for a week or two without getting a decent picture. Those expanded front tarsi (feet) look remarkably like those on Platychierus sp., so I might get an id soon. About 15 mm. long, so larger than the Platycheirus sp. that I know. Maybe Platycheirus albimanus.
And a laugh to finish. Male Pine flowers are being dropped in great numbers and this one is suspended in a barely-visible spider's web.
