Fun in the Sun

We had a fun morning yesterday and we saw lots of different insects: Honey Bees Apis mellifera, Common Wasps Vespula vulgaris ("Be careful of those" said my daught to my son, "they sting.") Hover Flies Syrphus ribesli (which both of my children think are wasps such is the success of their mimicry!) Flesh Flies Sarcophaga carnaria, Red Admirals Vanessa atalanta (which seem bigger than I remember as a child?!), and the odd Small White Artogeia rapae.  All of these were flying happily around the Ivy flowers.

Ivy with Honey Bee

Ivy with Flesh Fly

Ivy with (in there somewhere ;-) ) Red Admiral

My daughter was very pleased to find an Earwig Forficula auricularia hiding under a rock.

With regard to the botanical specimens we saw (getting all fancy now!!) we saw some beautiful Hawthorns with very red and plump berries, various Thistles which I still have to positively identify and other Creeping Thistles Cirsium arvense, of course the Ivy with the little yellowy green budding flowers, some really pretty looking Smooth Sow-Thistle Sonchus oleraceus with vibrant flowers and pointy leaves.  I took some samples of the Common Ragwort Senecio jacobaea and Field Fleawort Senecio integrifolius and was able to positively identify both of them.

My daughter managed to find, and was really proud of herself some fungi of a pale honey colour with fairly deep gills.  These were in direct sunlight, and seemed to be either Common Yellow Russula Russula ochroleuca or Bright Yellow Russula Russula claroflava.

Hawthorn

A Thistle (?)

Smooth Sow-Thistle

Russula Fungus (side view)

Russula Fungus (alternate view)