Nashenden Invertebrates

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.

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.

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.

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