Willow Emerald

Today i managed to see my first Willow Emerald at Yardley Chase and very charasmatic it was too. Last week there was one captured but it managed to escape just as the pot was opened to photograph it and yesterday there was some small signs of the egg/larvae scarring in willow. However today i followed jeff to the pond for a concerted look.

Image from Dragonfly Society - I will lod up jeff's when he sends through. I had looked for them a few times but was not convinced and today seemed to be similar. I managed to see a few Emerald's but there didnt seem to be anything different. And then one seemed to be just a little larger, no blue on the abdomen and it's pale Pterostigma stood out. As i looked closer there was a green line on the thorax. It was definitely a Willow Emperor. It was too far away to take a photo so i netted it and left that part to Jeff.

I then looked at the willow stems and found the evidence of eggs and larvae on just about all of the willow stems which is a great sign that it is breeding but in good numbers. The sun came out and i got my eye in and it was great to see a few more too. A very pretty damselfly that can so easily be overlooked

Lockdown

Having been locked down avoiding Coronovirus for 6 weeks i have been avoiding recording wildlife. One of the great enjoyments for me are the fantastic habitats and environments that wildlife flourishes. Unfortunately my garden doesn't count as one of them so my interest has been on hold for a short while. However today i took a walk to Harlestone to see if the wild garlic (Allium ursine) was out and it didn't disappoint.

That fantastic smell, i know it is not for everyone but is brilliant in the woodland setting and the dainty white flowers against the plain green leaves is just so pretty.

There is a notable hoverfly called Portevinia maculata whose larvae feed on the bulbs of the plant during the winter with the adults making a brief appearance from Mid May to early June co-inciding with the flowering period. The adults sun themselves in the dappled light on the leaves and flowers with their wings out in a delta shape. They fly quite close to the ground in and out of the plants and can easily be overlooked.