09/03/2021 All photos in the garden.

  Maximum temperature here today 10⁰C, minimum -2⁰C.  Dry .   9km/h North-Easterly winds with gusts up to 26 km/h.  If the forecast is right it starts raining again tomorrow and the temps stay low. 

The past week the weather has been great and the bugs and lizards have been out and about - think they have now all gone undercover again.  I have been gardening so no time to go out for walks.

On another note, I had my second COVID jab yesterday and no reaction other than a slightly sore arm.

Japanese Quince (Chaenomeles japonica).

Daffodils.

Japanese camellia (Camellia Japonica).

Two-spot ladybirds can have up to sixteen spots! And then to confuse matters further, the ten-spot and harlequin ladybird can also have two spots. I was presuming this 16 spot was (Adalia bipunctata)... On second thoughts maybe this is the Asian Ladybug (Harmonia axyridis.)

.

As above...

As above...

As above...

Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis)....

As above with a Firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus) commonly known as the Gendarme beetle. It was totally ignored presumably not very tasty!

Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros) on the viburnum tinus...

As above...

As above looking a little battered! ...

As above...

As above being bombed...

As above.

Lawn daisy (Bellis perennis) with what I believe to be Sweat bees (Halictidae).

Hoverfly and I think (Eristalis tenax).

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).

Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna).

Take care everybody, keep well and stay safe.

My local list of wildflowers. (90 Species 23/08/2020).

See also my

 Bird blog

Joining up with My Corner of the World.

Trying to catch up a bit......

 Maximum temperature here today 31⁰C, minimum 13⁰C.  Dry.   12km/h South-Easterly winds with gusts up to 24 km/h. 

Apologies for lack of blogs and lack of visits, but with the dehydrator not working, I had to keep up with bottling, and then when the dehydrator returned in working order, there was still a lot of figs (and they have not stopped yet) to be prepared for dehydrating.   I am sorry that I did not weigh all the fruit but I didn't.  We have though 5 large bags of quartered figs dry and a couple of bags of sliced figs also dry.  Now the apples are ready!   I have already bottled some stewed, and some apple sauce from the fallers.  But will pick out a few good ones for dehydrating, we have two Granny Smith apple trees.  In between we rescued a few quinces from the top of the tree, thankfully there was not a lot this year.  The quinces made up 4 large bottles of fruit and 8 jars of jelly.  Oh, and of course an overload of haricot beans meant bottling curried beans which we prefer to frozen.

Proof that I have not been loafing!!

I have though each day managed to get out and take at least get one photo - I needed to keep Blip going.  If you have never tried it, meet the great community of Blip  Here.  If you should join please let me know so I can follow.  I Blip under the name of 'Charente'.

Unusual sunset.  I was a bit late and missed the best of it.

Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria).

Californian poppy (Eschscholzia californica).

Bee on the Sedum.

Bee drinking.

Asian hornet (Vespa velutina), also known as the yellow-legged hornet.

Believed to have arrived in France in boxes of pottery from China in 2004. They have since spread all over France and are bee-killers!!!

Robber fly but not sure which one.  Family: Asilidae.

Hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum).

As above

Common blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus).

As above - Male.

A feather plant 😀

Cosmos.

Cyclamen.

Common Spitting Spider (Scytodes thoracica).

So-called because it spits a venomous sticky silken substance over its prey.  It has six eyes instead of the eight spiders usually have.

Ladybird (Coccinellidae).

As above.

Pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria euphrosyne).

 

As above.

Californian poppy with bee.

Wall Lizard  (Podarcis Muralis).

The dehydrator using every other shelf as the fig quarters are too big!

My local list of wildflowers. (90 Species 23/08/2020).

See also my

 Bird blog

Joining up with My Corner of the World

31/05/2020 Lots of insects........Part 1

Maximum temperature here today 27⁰C, minimum 14⁰C.  Dry.  16km/h South-Easterly wind with gusts up to 37 km/h. 

I walked yesterday but with 25C in the shade, I only managed 6.2 km, the last loop I had planned was abandoned!

Hoverfly possibly (Episyrphus balteatus) on a Californian poppy.

Nine spot Ladybird.

Bees on the cotoneaster.

Hoverfly not the same as one above!...

In France there are around 530 different species of Hoverfly that are known to be present, this is probably (Syrphus ribesii).

As above.

Spotted Craneflies I think - (Nephrotoma appendiculata).

House centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata).

Possibly one of the stag beetles.

Bee on the blackberry blossom.

Ants on Common Vetch.

Black-veined white butterfly (Aporia crataegi).

Red admiral butterfly (vanessa atalanta).

Beautiful demoiselle (Calopteryx Virgo) female.

As above male.

As above female.

A pair of River skaters (Aquarius najas).

Common clubtail dragonfly, (Gomphus vulgatissimus).

Not an insect but seen on the walk - Probably (Pelophylax lessonae).

My thanks to Richard for ID of some of the difficult (for me) insects.  If you have not visited his blog I highly recommend it.  Any mistakes on ID are very much my own as I sometimes think I know better than to ask!!!

Our local list of wild flowers

See also my

 Bird blog