Daisy Bugs

 As mid-summer approaches and the heat starts to build, the birders amongst us may begin to wonder at the dearth of birds in the wood.

At times like this a chap might turn his mind and his camera towards the insects who take centre stage as the year warms up. The daisy beds on the south side of the wood in The Coppice development looked promising and the light was good.

First encounter was with a Thick-legged Flower Beetle Oedemera nobilis with its flashy green wing cases and extraordinary upper leg. It feeds on the pollen from many types of flowers including daisy.

The females' legs are far more dainty.

The Red-tipped Flower Beetle Malachius bipustulatus also likes pollen, but will take other insects too.

Then came a Fourteen-spotted Lady Beetle, Propylea quatuordecimpunctata. Also known more simply as P-14, it is an out and out predator of aphids and small, slow insects over its extensive range between here and Japan.

Cochinella septempunctata, or Seven-spotted Ladybird is more widely known, but no less voracious.

The Soldier Beetle Cantharis rustica, gives a far better impression of a ruthless predator than the ladybird.