@Edent iNaturalist says that this is Spanish Fly (an Oil or Blister beetle). Historically, were ground up as an aphrodisiac (plot point in Patrick O'Brian's Treason's Harbour). There are only three records for this species on #iNaturalist for the UK🇬🇧, so it would be nice if you could add this one (with suitable care over location privacy).
My last public appearance of the season is this Saturday, June 1st!
Join me for a "Pollinator Safari / Walkabout" from 1-3pm at the East 4th Street Community Garden in Kensington, Brooklyn:
"We'll "hunt" for pollinators, and other flower visitors,around the garden. As we try to identify them, we'll learn about the garden’s biodiversity and ecology."
The hope is the information could lead to more protections for the region's natural richness, which is overshadowed by news of drug trafficking & migrant smuggling.
Another unusual insect: Tenthredo baetica (ssp. dominiquei), with only 118 observations world wide, of which 29 for this particular subspecies. It's a wasp – sort of: a sawfly.
The rear limbs are rather large, and I wonder why. For carrying prey?
Wikipedia points out an interesting reversal: in the Tenthredo genus, the larvae eat plants while the adults prey on other insects. Whereas many typical wasps do the opposite: the adults sip nectar but hunt insects to feed their young. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenthredo One wonders then what is this adult doing on a flower, engaging in motion patterns characteristic of foraging on nectar and pollen.
An unusual fly: red-belted hoverfly, Brachypalpoides lentus – a sawfly mimic. The larva is yet to be described. About 20 observations in the whole UK; 172 globally.
From Hyde Park, London (June 2023). Standing right next to Peter Pan's statue.
Go out in a field and walk it and start to pay attention to the ground beneath your feet.
Pay attention to basically every plant until you learn to tell the plants apart.
Take pictures. Use #inaturalist. Be systematic. Don't say "that is grass": what kind of grass? Is it different from this other grass two feet away? How would you tell?
Then after you've done that… repeat the process over the same area. Looking again at what you missed.
I love our solitary bees. In the late morning hours when it’s still cold they sit at the opening of their tubes, looking out, warming up, trying to find the inner strength to get up and start doing things and I can relate so much.
My favourite NZ observation on #iNaturalist from the last couple of days is this stable fly photographed at Waihi by helenmacky.
It's a handsome enough fly, and it's a good photo, but what makes it stand out is the gang of at least seven pseudoscorpions all hitching a ride on it.
I've delayed long enough -- let's talk about the City Nature Challenge!
It's a global citizen science competition between cities, vying to observe the most species in one weekend. Observations are made via the #iNaturalist app or website.
It starts this weekend, April 26-29, 2024. You have until May 5th to upload all of your observations and try to get them identified.
If your city or region is participating, that's pretty much all you have to do!
I recommend on just getting outside this weekend and taking as many photos you can of all the wild organisms you can -- plants, birds, lizards, bugs, whatever -- as long as it's truly wild (not captive or cultivated by humans).
Then you've got a week to upload the photos to #iNaturalist, which should give you plenty of time.