Like Martin, I decided mid morning to hell with the rain and when out for a walk up the Taff Trail to Pont-y-Gwaith bridge and back, with the rain eventually stopping as I made the return journey.
Bird life was pretty quiet, but a flash past of a kingfisher is always enough to brighten a day.
By the time I reached the field at Gwyl Taf, the sun was out, though the vegetation was still soaking. I flushed a Meadow Brown and a mid sized orange coloured butterfly that took off at high speed - possible Small Pearl-bordered - but couldn't relocate it.
Almost home and a bank of roses in full sunlight was providing a feeding station for a number of insects. I did spy a Sphegina hoverfly -easy to id to genus level, small with long dangling legs, but it wouldn't land anywhere in sight to allow me to try to id to species level.
Also feeding on the roses was one of our smallest Longhorn Beetles, Grammoptera ruficornis. only about 7-8mm in length. the photo is pretty poor but you can just about make out the diagnostic black and red antennae
Not far away was a Stiltbug, Metatropis rufescens
On a patch of Ground Elder, I found a large dark bee. About twice the size of a Honey Bee drone, my thinking was this could be a female Honey Bee, but the lack of a swarm - there were a couple of honey bee drones feeding in the immediate area, seems surprising, if it is a female.
Bird life was pretty quiet, but a flash past of a kingfisher is always enough to brighten a day.
By the time I reached the field at Gwyl Taf, the sun was out, though the vegetation was still soaking. I flushed a Meadow Brown and a mid sized orange coloured butterfly that took off at high speed - possible Small Pearl-bordered - but couldn't relocate it.
Almost home and a bank of roses in full sunlight was providing a feeding station for a number of insects. I did spy a Sphegina hoverfly -easy to id to genus level, small with long dangling legs, but it wouldn't land anywhere in sight to allow me to try to id to species level.
Also feeding on the roses was one of our smallest Longhorn Beetles, Grammoptera ruficornis. only about 7-8mm in length. the photo is pretty poor but you can just about make out the diagnostic black and red antennae
Not far away was a Stiltbug, Metatropis rufescens
On a patch of Ground Elder, I found a large dark bee. About twice the size of a Honey Bee drone, my thinking was this could be a female Honey Bee, but the lack of a swarm - there were a couple of honey bee drones feeding in the immediate area, seems surprising, if it is a female.
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