Ginger ninja bee

Too tired to write much!! It was Pete's birthday today and he has chosen my blip photo. I'm really glad, as having taken far too many photographs today, mostly of insects, my brain has stopped functioning.

We made the most of the lovely weather by going to Ring Haw quarry and having the first picnic of the year under a shady hazel. There were lots of solitary bees and wasps to keep Pete amused. This particular one goes by the name of Early Mining Bee Andrena haemorrhoa, but in this pose we thought it looked like a mean ginger ninja bee!

I spent quite a long time kneeling on the quarry floor with my bottom in the air, photographing the Two-coloured Mason-bee Osmia bicolor. This species nests in disused snail shells. It lays one egg per shell, and then stocks it up with pollen before closing it with fragments of leaf, and constructing a twig tent over it. It only produced 5 or 6 of these in a season, but all the care and attention pays off as its larvae are rarely parasitized. I got some quite nice shots, and will add them to my blog in due course, but not tonight!

This evening we had the first barbecue of the year! The boys love eating outside, though by 7pm it was getting a little chilly, and we retreated inside for pudding. Off to bed now, before I collapse. I'll catch up with you all tomorrow!