A Tick on My Neck

I crashed into a bit of an old-man sleep on the settee last night after dinner, and by the time I came round I couldn't be arsed with blogging. And it's not like there was nothing to blog about either!

Yesterday was another sunny day with slightly less breeze. Everytime I nipped out to the garden with the camera, just when it looked like there was something to point it at another blasted Eristalis pertinax would come in and disturb the quarry. I found my self openly berating the said hoverflies as complete fucking idiots. I then realised that vocally remonstrating with diptera was perhaps a sign that being confined to barracks really was driving me bonkers. [I should mention that my very recent confinement is more about dealing with some sort of excrutiatingly painful inflammation in my left big toe joints. Gout? Athritis? Rickets?]

Anyway, whilst stood there pointing at hoverflies and swearing at them, I felt a tickle on my neck. The kind of tickle that instinctively makes you grab at it and have a look. On my fingertip was a tiny black dot - too small to see any detail with the naked eye but big enough to immediately point the camera at and have a look. Bugger me!

An inconspicuous ladybird, Nephus quadrimaculatus no less. A full tick for me, and amazingly up until 27/03/2020 this had never been recorded in VC55. One was beaten from ivy, which in turn prompted a bit of action and another couple of records have been made along with other inconspicuous ladybirds (including the first VC55 Scymnus interruptus and the first VC55 Horseshoe Ladybird since 1872). So finding this in such a lucky manner was pretty amazing, the only bashing or beating involved was me shouting at hoverflies. Anyway, I immediately stuck it in a pot that I had in my pocket - and then realised the pot had previously housed both a Mompha subbistrigalis and an Epermenia chaerophyllella netted in the garden. The tiny beetle was now scuttling around with a liberal coating of scales. I brought it in, got the news out and cleaned it up for another shot - not that's it's much better.

Otherwise, the Eristalis managed to completely mess with my mind. I'd noticed what appeared to be a large pale and fluffy-looking fly buzzing around but not landing. Eventually it did settle, and I cautiously approached it expecting something interesting .... only to note that it was a completely shit-looking Eristalis pertinax. I wondered if it was just very worn, one suggestion on the UK Hoverflies group was that it was actually just covered in dust and dirt after emergence. Great - these are going to keep messing me about for weeks.

Wanker

I did manage to point the camera at another hoverfly though, and after scrutinising the picture I came to the conclusion that it was new for me - which was subsequently supported by no less than Roger Morris.

Melangyna lasiophthalma

I failed to net it, or any other diptera or hymenoptera for that matter, though this bug hit the threads ..

Slightly out of focus Deraeocoris lutescens

In order to try and attract more stuff onto the lilac bush leaves, I made up a sugar-solution and flicked a few splashes on. It didn't really work. Until this morning when I realised that the bush was now covered in small groups of ants benefitting from the residues. I'm assuming Small Black Ant, but I'm not going to start squinting at them under a microscope.

There did seem to be a few more flies around in the garden today, though apart from the regulars there were no new hoverflies. I was pleased to get the following shots though, considering the flies were sat on top of the 6ft garden fence panels and I am somewhat less than 6ft. I'm glad the camera has a swivel view-screen.

Face Fly - Musca autumnalis

Other diptera was not identifiable ....

I think this is a 'Flesh Fly' - Sarcophaga sp.

I'm guessing one of the Anthomyiidae, maybe Hylema sp.

The first Harlequin Beetle of the year in the garden blundered into my net, and I managed to grab a shot literally just before it blundered off.

Also knocking around today were two or three Red Mason Bees, none of which would settle anywhere for a shot. I've got a few bits from today in pots to work on: a couple of carabids (another Amara type and something small and Bembedion-ish), a Nomada sp. bee and this sawfly ..

Athalia sp.

Birds-wise it has been very quiet, nothing new. And the moth trap is out tonight for the first time for a few days.

Stay safe. And sane!