Monday - a stroll along the lanes

I went for a stroll along the lanes around the back of Sainsbury's again. Despite the lack of sunshine there were plenty of invertebrates about.



These are Common Froghoppers ( Philaenus spumarius ), the creators of cuckoo spit in which they hide their eggs in spring. They are very variable in appearance.


There were a couple of adult Common Field Grasshoppers (Chorthippus brunneus) and this nymph among the nettles and long grasses.


This is a Marsh Damselbug (Dolichonabis limbatus) which also likes areas of long damp grass.



This unusual bee was feeding on Ragwort. I think it is an Andrena species - possibly Andrena semiaenea.


The Nettles were covered in Green Shield Bugs and Snails. Most of the snails were Heath Snails but I also found this much larger one - a form of the White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis). This form has a scattered incidence among the more normal, striped form.



Yarrow and Ragwort were two of the main laneside flowers with a hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus) feeding on the former.


Not many people would get really excited about a 1cm white spot with eight legs but I did when I found this crab spider on the shrubs outside Sainsbury's. It has no common English name but its scientifiuc name is Misumena vatia. It was the first time I'd seen this creature which lies in wait on flowerheads (usually white flowers) to jump on its prey. I think it's beautiful but I suppose if you are not keen on spiders you might think differently.