The Pattern

In the past, 36 moths of 20 species in the garden moth trap on a warm June evening would have felt like a famine, but now it feels like the best I can hope for. Of these, two were new for the garden, including this Scarce Silver-lines, Bena bicolorana. This is the pattern I am seeing now - reasonable numbers of species but overall, hugely reduced numbers of insects, and diversity lower than in the past. 

 

Entomology Update - May 2025

May has been a busy month, dominated by bees. I am thankful for the relief from the spring drought at the end of the month. 

Bees Knees - Minding The Gap

Plunging into solitary bees.

Kleidocerys privignus

A new species(?) for VC55. 

Floating frames for macro photography

Another tip for insect photography.

Book Recommendation: Micro ladybirds of Britain and Ireland

One day all field guides will be this good. A real gem of a book and at a bargain price. You'd be daft not to buy it. 

Where the bee sucks

Unsurprisingly, the solitary bees I have been working with recently have often been covered in pollen (they have a lot to cram into their short adult lives).

Free Range Pollen

Working out where the bees have been. 

The Entomological Society - keeping the lights on

I'm troubled by the ongoing demise of traditional wildlife groups, the sort that (used to) meet in a village hall once a month. I observe them gradually blinking out, one by one.

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