Yet another walk through Denso Marston Nature Reserve. It is only a few minutes away so when it is not raining I quite like going to the river.
Ladybirds, ladybirds and attempts to make yet more ladybirds. One of these days I hope to get an inkling that I understand a few things. I did think that a ladybird with red spots on a black background was different to a ladybird with black spots on a red background, and in the same way the number of spots meant something. After all there is a two spot ladybird (Adalia bipunctata) and a seven spot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata). Are these different to Harlequin Ladybirds that might have 2 spots or 7 spots? Can/do Adalia bipuncta mate with Coccinella septempunctata? I thought they didn’t. Does that mean that the photos above where a red on black ladybird is mating with a black on red ladybird are all of Harlequin Ladybirds that just happen to be “spotted” that way?
One of the mating Ladybirds is munching on an Aphid
I decided to Google the idea about knowing things and found that Aristotle credited with writing The more you know, the more you realise you don’t know. And Albert Einstein said As our circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of darkness surrounding it. Though I quite like my version The larger the radius of knowledge the greater the sphere of ignorance.
I managed to spot several bird chicks while I was out. They still have noticeable yellow “gape” lines.
This last set of photos are a bit of variety. A few bugs and beetles, one of them looking enormous and ready to lay a few hundred eggs. The Umbellifera is another of those where the more I look the more unsure I am. The florets look like poisonous hemlock water-dropwort but I’m not too sure about the leaves. And I have not heard that plant mentioned before. There’s plenty of Cow Parsley/Wild Chervil and Hogweed around.
Apologies for not having a ruler in each shot so that you can tell that the Weevil is a lot smaller than the Rat.
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