Please refer to the Introduction Page to understand the context behind the monthly photographs.
Animals
Birds
Butterflies
Dragonflies
Most Dragonflies live on average two to three weeks with six at the most.
The Migrant Hawker is a frequent migrant from South Europe but also locally breeding in South Wales and up to the Midlands in England.
Shieldbugs
Newly emerged Sloe/Hairy Shieldbug before turning its usual Green/purple colour. The old outer skin it emerged from is hanging below the Thistle head.
Spiders
Oak Galls
Oaks, especially the native species are the host plants for more than 70 species of cynipid gall wasp. These galls are part of the biodiversity a healthy oak tree supports. The plant gall are initiated by mites, beetles, flies, gall wasps, plant sucking bugs (psyllids), aphids and sawflies.
Rather rare - cynips disticha wasp galls on the underside of an Oak leaf. Inside are two chambers, with the wasp larva in the basal chamber.
These common Spangle Galls below are caused by the Gall Wasp Neuroterus Quercus-Baccarum. These mature in September and fall down to the ground. The lavre develop inside over winter with emergence in April. There can be up to ninety on the underside of a single Oak leaf.
The Silk Spangle Galls below are caused by the Gall Wasp Neuroterus numismalis and are similar to the Common Spangle Galls above.
Fungi
Slime moulds
Lichen
Lichen are only recorded at each new OS Grid location (hover for Grid Ref). They are then entered on the British Lichen Society spreadsheet and submitted for their Warwickshire VC38 Lichen database and Lichen mapping.
Ones that escaped the camera lens this month
a) Muntjac Deer.