Monday, 14 Sep 2026

A morning that must have been close to 100% humidity – without a moderate breeze we would probably have had a mist. There was a heavy dew on everything.

There was not a butterfly to be seen, but I managed to stir up a single Rush Veneer moth (Nomophila noctuella) from the grass.

I came across a female European Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus) beginning the work of cocooning an insect caught in her web, possibly a Tenthredo sp. sawfly. While the white cruciform markings of A. diadematus are unmistakable, the colour of the abdomen is very variable from yellow through browns to almost black, which can be seen by comparing this one with some posted last year.

The only flies were large Sarcophaga sp. flesh flies that could be seen resting on bare earth patches in the grass as well as on the paths.

The find of the day was a colony of Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae) that have recently emerged from their nests.

This is an established colony, as I posted some images from the same place last year. Ivy bees are the last of the bee species to appear and are among the latest flying too. Their emergence is timed to coincide with the flowering of ivy, although before the ivy flowers are fully open they will feed on whatever flowers are still available. I noted some Ragwort, St. John’s Wort and Red Bartsia in the area.

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