Is it a Bee? Is it a Wasp? No, it's a Cuckoo!!

Following on from the previous post about wild Bees this post is about their cuckoo's.
Some bees are cuckoo bees, that is they can't be bothered to do all the hard work of building a nest for their eggs, or providing pollen to feed the grubs. No, these bee's have got it well sussed, they just lay their eggs in the nests of other bee's and let the other bees do all the work.
Hence the name 'cuckoo bee' after the lazy bird adapted to live by the same principals!!!!

There are may Cuckoo bees around, even some that look like bumble bees!!
In the garden 2 doors down the road we have a healthy population of hairy footed flower bee nests, constantly worried by their cuckoo bee Melecta albifrons

Many Cuckoo bees come from the family Nomada, and these bees look much more like wasps than bees!

This is Nomada goodeniana

I am sure you will agree, very wasp like! But not a wasp believe me if it was I wouldn't be holding it!!!

There are many species of Nomada bees, all of which look fairly similar, and who's identification drives me to distraction!

This one with no yellow spots on the thorax could beNomada leucophthalma 

This one is tiny, (it is sitting on a lesser celendine petal), and I am not sure of id.

Know your A's and Bees

This time of the year is excellent for bees, by that I don't mean just honey bees and bumble bees , but the tiny, often overlooked wild mining and cuckoo bees as well.

This is a honey bee, the type which live in a hive and give us yummy honey.

At this time of the year, you will also see bumble bees, usually in the form of the very large queens looking around for holes and hidden places to nest in. Bombus terrestris, the common yellow tailed bumble bee is very hardy and queens of this species can be seen all winter on fine, warm days foraging for nectar.

We have quite a few species of bumble bees here in the UK, most build small nests and are friendly and usually mind their own buisness. This is another very common species, Bombus lapidarias, the red tailed bumble bee.

In the south of the UK there is a relativley new species of bumble bee Bombus hypnorum, the tree bumble bee. these have a ginger thorax, and a white bottom!!!

But bewhere!!! I find them nasty and dissagreeable and more than willing to give you a good buzzing should you stray too near their nest site!!!

This is Anthophora plumipes, the hairy footed flower bee, so called because the male has a very hairy middle leg

These little bees which resemble small bumble bees are busy and noisy, and difficult to photograph as they never sit still for very long. they feed on nectar from garden plants especially pulmonaria and are one of our earliest wild bees.

Whilst the male is tawney (with a hairy middle leg), the female is all black with orange pollen sacs.

This tiny and common spring bee is Osmia rufa, no doubt named after it's beautiful colour!

Some specimens are even more orange .....and VERY hairy!

Another common bee is  the so called Tawny Mining bee (Andrena fulva) 

I think this little bee is really beautiful, and a fantastic colour. It is quite common and found in a diverse range of places. One of these pictures was taken in leechpool woods, and the second at Kithurst hill on the downs.

And yet another Andrena haemorrhoa

Which like most wild bees are quite friendly. I am told they can sting, and probably would if you hurt them, but I have never been stung - yet!!!

I think it is great fun seeing just how many wild bees there are out there, mostly unnoticed, I have several species in my garden and the forest is teeming with them.

Flying high!!!!

Thought (having seen other blogs) it might be nice to share some of my attempts to capture various insects in flight.
In honesty, I think dragonflies might be the easiest.....

If you up the ISO, with the camera settings on M you can adjust the exposure to as fast as possible and 'still' the dragonfly wings.

This Migrant hawker is great for taking in flight shots, as they are very inquisitive and love to hover really close to see what you are doing.

Of all the in flight shots I have taken I think I probably like this shot the most....as the dragonfly really stands out well from the background, and it really shows off his amazing gliding skills.

Common darters are also a great place to start, as they are also nosy, and plentiful.

Some hovers are easier than others, this species is really good.

He looks like he's jumping for joy!!!

Damselflies are a bit more tricky , as this shot shows.

Downy emeralds love hovering, and they have amazing blue eyes!

This is a male hairy footed flower bee and believe me this was just a lucky shot!!

Southern Hawker still showing off.

Mill Hill such a great place!

I love going to Mill Hill, it is such a wonderful piece of chalk grassland and wonderful for butterflies.

However it is not for the feint hearted as the path on the lower slopes (where most of the butterflies are) is only about a foot wide and halfway down a steep slope. Added to this the butterflies don't just land on the grass 2 inches from the path (I wish they would), so you have to be prepared to scramble up and down the slopes beside the path to get any shots.

The views are worth it though, they are stunning!

Grizzled skippers, a mating pair, great news for Mill Hill next year.

The similar but slightly larger Dingy skipper. Such a sad name for such a beautiful butterfly.

Mill Hill is most famed for it's population of Adonis blue butterflies, you really have to see them to understand what all the lepidopterists rave about but the blue colour is out of this world!! 

You can tell them from the duller Common blues by the checkerboard edging to the wings

Carline thistles are like little sun dials, opening for the rays.

Hounds tongue

Finally, this little fly, famed for Kissing it's mate - sweet!!

Talk to the hand!!!!!

Looking back my desire to 'whisper' to little insects so they would climb onto my hand started quite innocently the middle of last year.  I think the reason for my sudden strange behaviour was three fold,

 Firstly I had been forced to stop using my much loved 90 - 300mm telemacro lens and had to switch to using my 50mm compact macro instead. Using the macro lens meant I had to get so much closer to the subject, to get a decent shot - no more taking shots from 18 inches away!!

Secondly, I had purchased a lovely shiny new set of 3 all singing all dancing extension tubes which unfortunately  meant getting even closer to get a good shot!

And finally, at 54 I was getting a bit old and creaky and climbing around in the undergrowth seemed less inviting by the day!

This beautiful Volucella inanis was one of the first flies I was able to get onto my finger, she seemed more than willing to sit there, and it was just soo easy to get decent shots....so the fly whispering continued.

Flushed with success success I moved on to shield bugs, great little insects always willing to sit and look pretty.  

Even moths like this stunning Dusky sallow (Eremobia ochroleuca) seemed to be happy just sitting in my palm!

I saw this little hover (Eristalis intricarius) hovering around just above me when I was on a day out at Wisley gardens with my friend, I just put my hand up in the air and he landed straight on my finger, I couldn't believe it.

Flushed with my success in 2011 I started this year as I mean to go on. This is a gorse shield bug showing his fantastic red antennae.

This normally flighty bee fly was caught caught in a spider's web, seeing his plight I managed to set him free, and he sat on my finger for a few seconds before flying off again.

This is a tiny lily beetle (saved from squashing by my neighbour for taking up residence on her snake's head fritillary). Close up you can get so much better detailed shots.

Early grey moth, caught in my moth trap.

Flushed with continued success, I moved on to more difficult subjects, This small bee  Nomada goodeniana is trying it's best to bite me!! Great wasp mimic though don't you think!!!

St Mark's day fly 

Female Orange tip, happily settled on my finger

Hover fly  

Epistrophe eligans  Don't even ask what it is doing!!!!

This is
Rhingia campestris named after it's big fat nose no doubt!!

Minute little pea weevil, soo sweet!! 

This beautiful bee 

Andrena haemorrhoea was cold and more than willing to sit on my warm hand.

My first damselfly of the season, a perfect female large red damselfly, rescued from the path.

Last but by no means least a Drinker moth larvae, and before you mention it, please don't try holding hairy larvae unless you are sure you are not allergic.