Thursday 24 May 2012
Tree Bumble and a Caddis Fly
When I walked into the garage yesterday afternoon there was a really loud buzzing sound - I honestly thought there was a swarm of bees somewhere around! But there on the garage door window was a Tree Bumble Bee (Bombus hyponorum) - only my second sighting and the first here at home.
It had incredibly full pollen baskets.
Unlike the Cinnabar moth in the morning I was able to pot this bee quite easily and release it into the garden.
I ran the moth trap again last night and, despite the warm humid air (temperature ranged from 20.7 - 12.4 degrees centigrade) and the fact that there were a lot of flies and micros round the trap during the evening, there were very few moths actually in the trap this morning.
I found another Shuttle-shaped Dart, a couple more Tachystola acroxantha plus several unidentified micros which are too flighty to photograph and look exceedingly hard to identify!
I did, however, find a Caddis Fly. Caddies Flies are a distant relative of moths although they differ in having wings covered with tiny hairs not scales and biting mouthparts rather than a proboscis. Most species have aquatic larvae so I wonder if this particular individual came from our pond.
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2 comments:
No wonder the bee decided a rest in the garage was required after such a heavy pollen shopping trip! 50% off at BHS perhaps?
Kirkstallcreatures - LOL!!! I think it should be BeeHS :)
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