Another heavily overcast morning, so I waited again until just after lunch to head out and managed to get in a good sunny walk before the clouds descended again. Much like yesterday there were not too many butterflies about, with the only addition to the three species of yesterday being a few Holly Blue.

I headed straight for the site at which I found the Yellow Weevil (Lixus iridis) yesterday, hoping for better photos. The weevils proved harder to find than yesterday, but the mission was accomplished. The weevils are found in a thick tangle of Hogweed, Cow Parsley, brambles, nettles and goosegrass, and while searching for them I found another 8 different species; a weevil, 3 bugs, a ladybird and 3 spiders. Common Leaf Weevil (Phyllobius pyri) outnumbered the Yellow Weevil, but biggest numbers by far were of adult Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus). There was a single Oak Catkin Bug (Harpocera thoracica) and a handful of White-shouldered Shieldbug (Dyroderes umbraculatus), both of these new species for me.

The spiders were represented by a female Flower Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) sporting one of the many colour variations of this species, which can change colour like a chameleon to adapt to its surroundings, a female of another species of crab spider, most likely a Xysticus sp. (possibly X. kochi) and a European Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis).

Finally, there was a 22-spot ladybird (Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata).

I would see 4 further ladybirds on my return leg; 7-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata), 14-spot ladybird (Propylea quatuordecimpunctata), Pine Ladybird (Exochomus quadripustulatus) and Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) of the form succinea.

A Silver Birch (Betula pendula) tree provided 3 different species in very close proximity to each other. Both male and female of the March fly Orange Bibio (Bibio hortulanus), the third Bibio species this month, another weevil and new species for me, a Birch Leaf-rolling Weevil (Deporaus betulae) and another nymph of the leafhopper Oncopsis flavicollis/subangulata, possibly the next instar stage of the nymph seen on the same tree a week ago.

Other sightings were a female Early (or Orange-tailed) Mining Bee (Andrena haemorrhoa) collecting pollen from Sycamore flowers and Dark-edged Bee-fly (Bombylius major) at rest on dry leaf litter.

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