Symmetry
I hate to moan, as you know, but it’s not really feeling much like high summer at the moment. Today was cold, windy, and largely wet, with a distinctly autumnal atmosphere, and after bowling around the garden for fifteen minutes … Continued
Willughby’s Leafcutter Bee
I don’t know who Willughby was, but he or she managed to get themselves a truly beautiful bee. Worldwide there are over fifteen hundred species within the genus Megachile, but in the UK we only have seven, and M. willughbiella … Continued
Flavour of the week
The burdock is out along the bank of the Avon at Stratford, and this afternoon it was swarming with butterflies, most of which were Commas. I didn’t know before today that Commas find burdock nectar irresistible, but it must be … Continued
Speed Feeding Champion
The third day of the Alternative Olympic Games came to a thrilling climax this afternoon, with the finals of the 1m Speed Feed (Bees, solitary) competition. As had been predicted by most pundits, this came down to a head-to-head between … Continued
Sex and violence
I was watching a Wool Carder noodling through the hedge woundwort, thinking that it was smaller than I remembered, and half-forming the thought that it might be a female, when a second one swooped in and pounced. I think it … Continued
