Wednesday 18 April 2012

Nashenden Invertebrates

Black spider with striped legs.  Nashenden Down Nature Reserve, 14 April 2012.
Black spider with striped legs.  Nashenden Down Nature Reserve, 14 April 2012.
At Nashenden Down there was enough warmth for a few invertebrates to be around. There were no butterflies, which was disappointing. I expect there will be many later on. But I did see three spiders, only one of which I have managed to identify. It's not the first one, which I rather like, with its smart black body and striped legs with dangerous-looking hairs; it's the second one.

Wolf spider, Pardosa lugubris.  Nashenden Down Nature Reserve, 14 April 2012.
Wolf spider, Pardosa lugubris.  Nashenden Down Nature Reserve, 14 April 2012.
Unlike the other two, this one was in the woods and was easily spotted as a Wolf Spider, with strong legs for running after its prey.  In fact even though I used a fast exposure, this spider is .

The third one is quite hairy, and has been described as "interesting" but not identifiable without a different view. I caught it in motion. It had just abseiled down onto this leaf and it ran off in a flash, so I was lucky to get this one shot.  The large palps show that this is a male.

Spider that has just descended onto a nettle leaf.  Nashenden Down Nature Reserve, 14 April 2012.
All the spiders were on the move, so I didn't have time to arrange for better angles.

As well as these spiders I managed to photograph an inconspicuous small fly on a leaf, which I suspected, correctly, of being a hoverfly.

Hoverfly, Melanostoma scalare. Male.  Nashenden Down Nature Reserve, 14 April 2012.
Hoverfly, Melanostoma scalare.  Male.  Nashenden Down Nature Reserve, 14 April 2012.
The eyes of most male hoverflies adjoin each other at the top; there is a gap between the eyes of females. So this is a male, which is useful to know because there is a difference in the markings, and there are quite a few similar species. At least I now have a hoverfly book, which turns out to be a good one. (British Hoverflies, by Alan E. Stubbs and Stephen J. Falk.)

On the last section of the walk, along the bottom edge of a field, there were los of dandelions which were being explored by solitary bees, which I think are mining bees, Andrena species.  These are tricky to identify to species level, so I will stick with Andrena.

Solitary bees, Andrena species, on a Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale.   Nashenden Down Nature Reserve, 14 April 2012.
Solitary bees, Andrena species, on a Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale.   Nashenden Down Nature Reserve, 14 April 2012.

ALl these photos were taken with my EOS 60D and 100mm macro lens, with ring flash.

1 comment:

  1. Wonderful, especially that unnamed dangerous looking striped legged spider. But I must say that I am in awe of your getting that kestrel perfectly posed and suspended in a Constable sky.

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