Butterfly eggs and young

 I’ve been watching flocks of Cabbage white butterflies flying around these plants for days and just thought I’d check. Sure enough eggs and hatchlings abound.

Unknown Grasshopper

 This very large and highly detailed grasshopper is proving hard to identity with all my reference books in storage.

 Speckled Bush Cricket.

Damselflies mating and laying in the pond.

Bee update

 Well I opened the box today to check on those tiny rescued Mason bee eggs. To my surprise some had actually hatched and seemed quite healthy munching on their pollen packets. I counted three but there may be more. I’m not quite sure what to do with them after they cocoon. Do I put them in the fridge until next April or let them alone and let them hatch this year. I’ve got some more research to do.

Newt pond

 This was my first wildlife pond. Frogs stop off here but so far have not spawned, just as well because it has become the home of hundreds of Smooth newts. Just sit quietly for a couple of minutes and the water comes to life with mating and spawning newts.

The bars were put on many years ago when my boy was very little to stop him falling in. However, it’s not very deep as I have placed large sandstone rocks everywhere.

Frog pond

Added some frog shelves to the pond

 The cat having a drink on a hot day.

 Some of these frogs are tiny and must be one or two years old. So far no frogs have spawned in this wildlife pond even though it attracts them over the year. The pond is three years old so is still quite new.

Mole

 This little chap was brought in by the cat. He has been causing lawn mayhem for years.

 It’s fascinating to finally get a good look at him. People will spend a whole lifetime and never see one, so it was a real treat to show my little boy.

Rescuing Mason Bees

 Unfortunately a Mason bee had made its nest in our sun parasol. When the parasol was down, it made lots of nice little folds which the bee took for holes. Of course when it was opened the whole nest was broken open.
Lucky I noticed it and managed to grab them before any hungry wasps discovered them. The tiny eggs laid on the Pullen balls were mostly intacted. So with any luck they should still hatch and feed on the Pullen and grow. I have put them in a box in the kitchen window sil and we shall see what happens.

Emerging Damselfly

Smooth newt egg growing fast