This was probably the freakiest thing I have ever seen on my many walks, I was walking around the Newstead and Annesley Country Park, when suddenly 4 Guinea Pigs ran infront of me and bolted down a burrow, as I got closer another white one leaped into the burrow.

So I stepped back and set up my camera and tripod with my 400mm, I then waited and after about 15 minutes this little fella poked his head out of the burrow, after a short while he came out of the burrow and sat looking at me for a short while before disappearing again. So I decided to see if I could see them in the burrow and sure enough I could just about see one facing me. So I decided to put the 100mm Macro on and used off camera flash to get further shots, I also got a shot of the white one a lot further down the burrow.

I was wondering if anyone else has found Guinea Pigs established in the wild, they are obviously breeding as there seemed to be at least 5 that I counted. There are 3 different individuals in the photos here. A surreal experience today that I thought would be nice to share :o)

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Really pleased to find some of these, they at first look resemble Dicyrtomina sp, but on closer examination the ocelli give this species away, they have a pale brown area surrounding the ocelli and the markings are different on the abdomen. About 1.5-2mm in length, taken at 5x mag, cropped :0) Another relatively new species for the UK, first found in 2008 in Cornwall, closely resembles Calvatomina superba from New Zealand, hence Calvatomina nr superba, the nr refers to near to, it is possible this could be a new species :0)

I initially found them on a bit of fallen bark and placed the bark on a nearby bin to enable easier photography, a few decided to leg it over the surface of the bin, very fast and active these guys, see comments. Best thing is I found these about 10mins from the house at the Memorial Gardens by the Trent Embankment :0)

Interesting info on these foreign introductions, first 23 pages

www.ukeconet.co.uk/images/stories/aliens_proceedings.pdf

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I'm afraid I'm no real Ant expert, so I'm not 100% on ID here, but I will guess at Yellow Meadow Ant (Lasius flavus), so if anyone can confirm my ID I will be grateful.

These were found under a small bit of bark on grassland, there were a good dozen or so running about. I must say that Ants are a nightmare to photograph, they are small and very active and always present a real DOF nightmare, I have included a load of extra images, including some extreme close up crops. I also noticed that many individuals had very very small mites on their heads.

I'm hoping to get out with the camera soon, I understand that we are due some warm weather this weekend, about time LOL :o) I've started seeing a few insects, but one issue is a lot of the usual host plants have not really started growing yet. So all going well, normal service will be resumed :o)

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She then aligns her abdomen with the hole she has created, lowering her posterior into the hole.

Extra images

A teneral Common Blue Damselfly on my finger, this one stayed on for a few moments and then promptly flew off, it was so good to see them flying about, I had the biggest smile on my face :)

Looking at this now, probably a Common Blue Damselfly and not an Azure :)

These little dudes have to be one of the most active Collembola I find in the Winter months, they are always on the move. This makes them really hard to photograph as they just don't stay put, the other problem is that they are really hard to focus on, being so dark, so a bit of luck often kicks in as well. They grow to about 1mm in length, this was taken at x7 mag with MP-E on 1.4x Teleconverter :o)

I tend to find these on benches a lot, they seem to like old wooden benches covered in algae, so if you ever see some really sad looking bloke photographing benches close up then it could well be me LOL :oD

But, I do like these guys they have lots of character and I quite enjoy watching them ambling about, there and back again :o)

Hope you all have a great weekend :o)

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This was a bit of an experiment, I tried the MP-E and 1.4x teleconverter on my 1000D, this was taken at 5x mag on the MP-E and with the 1.4x teleconverter and crop sensor conversion of 1.6x works out as 11.2x magnification in total.

The biggest problem is the viewfinder on the 1000D, it does not have the greatest field of view and locating and focusing was a nightmare, this is an uncropped image of an adult Barkfly about 2mm in length :0)

Any help with ID appreciated as I have not mastered Barkfly ID as yet :0)

Possibly Ectopsocus briggsi.

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Well I was up at the crack of dawn and up near my fave Damsel haunt at about 6:10am, this was the first I found and I could not believe it, it has the same pigmentation problem as the one I found in Melton Mowbray a few weeks back, again it was a Common Blue Damselfly and the pigmentation was more extensive. That was not the end of it, as the morning went but nearly every Common Blue Damselfly I found was affected, I am now starting to think that something a bit more sinister is occurring here, I will explain more later, but I think this may be down to an infection (Fungal or Bacterial), some of the others I found were covered in orange gunk.

I'm afraid not to Bee in this case, keep finding lots of dead Bumble Bee's, not sure of the cause, some have their heads missing(If anyone suggests Alien experiments, say no more). This is a five stack image of a victim found on my walk today(I saw half a dozen like this today).

Nomada leucophthalma a cleptoparasite of Andrena clarkella burrowing down to lay her eggs :o)

begin whine

I am irritated, annoyed, bugged, bothered, pestered. Etc.

I am not sleeping. It's hot, and maybe that's part of it. Of course,

at dinner the other night, I told my husband that since I started

running and eating right, I haven't needed a sleeping pill. So

guess what happens. Two nights in a freakin' row. I can't fall

asleep. It's really ticking me off. It happens once in awhile,

usually the change of seasons or some hormonal thing or

boredom.

Second thing is that I skipped lunch on Saturday so that the

damage of Saturday night wouldn't be too bad, yet I didn't

eat or drink all that much, and I was up three pounds Sunday

morning and another half pound today, despite no dinner last

night and running five miles yesterday morning and three and

a half miles this morning. SNIFF. I know it's hormonal water

weight, but it'll take me another MONTH to get rid of it, and

then I'll gain it right back for the next cycle.

So now instead of ten pounds, I've lost, well, I can't even do

math. I'm too annoyed for subtraction and addition and

numbers. Too annoyed, even, for words. Pffffft.

And the self-tanning cream left stripes on my calf.

And my sister gave my daughter wedding cake the other

night, and wedding cake usually sucks, but this is like birthday

cake, and I wish she would eat the damned thing.

This picture and the one I took of Serena with goggle eyes

needed no processing. Yet I can't take a Dave & Dave

cooking picture to save my life, and I haven't even tried to do

a landscape.

I could go on whining and complaining, but why? No one

could possibly stand to read everything I could complain about.

I am not doing it for people to come here and be nice to me. It's

just about saying it out loud. Damn it! Shit! Fuck! OK, that

was better.

But I am bugged. I just feel like whining and complaining.

end whine

(For 365 Days. This is Day 226 and day 36 of my official

get-strong plan.)

A female Dicyrtomina saundersi on a leaf found on the ground at Wollaton Park, I tend to pick up any freshly fallen leaves to see what I can find, they are usually on the underside of the leaves. At Wollaton Hall there are plenty of evergreen shrubs and you will always find a few fallen leaves. I think these like to graze on any algae or mould that are found on these leaves, this is also where I find those tiny Sminthurinus aureus.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Shrove Tuesday and plenty of yummy pancakes tonight :o)

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This is a six image stack of a common Darter, this one looks a bit serious and i think she means business, nice to have a bit of sunshine today, although it did cloud over a bit later, supposed to be really good later in the week :)

I'm not 100% sure on exact species with this fella, there are a few similar species, so the best I can do for now is Lepidocyrtus sp. These Collembola are very common in leaf litter and on damp rotting wood. They are covered in iridescent scales and I quite liked the colours these produce :)

About 2mm and tricky ones to focus on :)

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Thanks to Frans for ID confirmation

A female Dicyrtomina saundersi on a fence grazing. Thought I'd throw in a close up of that ocelli cluster as well. The image on the right is an 8 image stack, I'm well out of practice stacking these guys, but there are some nice details to be seen.

Another cool find yesterday, a lovely Calvatomina rufescens, I found this guy on a fallen branch and could not believe that it stayed put for a 10 image handheld focus stack at x7 magnification.

Calvatomina species have a distinguishing feature of dark ocelli on a lighter coloured eye patch. We have 2 Calvatomina species in the UK, this one, Calvatomina rufescens is a native species. The other Calvatomina nr. superba is thought to be a garden centre import, it is thought they were introduced on imported plants.

I'm not sure, but judging by the white feet on this individual and the mottled appearance on the abdominal cuticle. I think that this individual might be preparing to moult.

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Male Sminthurides aquaticus underside view during courtship.

NECA TMNT Cartoon Elecrozapper & Bug Man

OK so it's not big and by no means bad, but it is red. I think this is Dicyrtoma fusca, but as ever stand by eagerly to be corrected, this one was on a rather damp underside of loose bark and I liked the head on angle and the reflections, always think these look quite impish or like little devils, of course the colour helps, at the end of the day many Collembola are instrumental in the breaking down of organic matter, I guarantee if you have a compost heap it will be full of Springtails :)

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The Common Yellow Dung Fly can be found pretty much everywhere, it gets its name as it does tend to gather in large numbers on animal dung, but it is also a common sight on virtually any flowering plant, find some Umbellifers and these guys will not be too far away, they do feed on pollen, but they mainly have a taste for other flies and insects. Here's an interesting snippit from Wiki :-

The adults are mostly predators on smaller insects — mostly other Diptera, they will also feed on pollen, but most specimens seen on flowers will be hunting prey there. Both males and females are found on dung, the males only feeding on other insects that visit dung, such as blow-flies. Females will be there both to feed and oviposit on the dung surface,

Females prefer to lay their eggs on the small hills of the dung surface and avoid depressions and pointed parts of the dung. This ensures survival, as emergence is better by avoiding the drying on small points in the dung. Also by avoiding possible drowning by rain by not laying eggs in depressions of the dung surface. The female yellow dung-fly places her eggs where they will have the greatest chance of survival. The eggs hatch into predatory larvae and feed on insect larvae within the dung. After 21 days or more of feeding, dependent on conditions, the larvae burrow into the soil around and beneath the dung and then develop into pupae, before developing into adult flies.

Scathophaga stercoraria can produce four or five generations per season. The adults are active throughout much of the year in most moderate climates. In most cases both males and females will mate multiple times, as is very common in insects. Much has been studied about the competition between genders and what factors determine mating success, and what part that in turn may play on the competitive nature on the larvae.

I was quite happy with this one, there are some nice textural details on this beauty, always amazed at how furry these guys can be :o)

Funnily enough if you were to go down to the stem then you would be seeing my last upload, yep same potted plant :o)

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Finally caught up with an Emerald Damselfly, I initially thought this fine fellow is a bit of a veteran by the looks of him, but it is more than likely an immature male that is starting to show its powder blue colouration:o)

Thanks to Roger H3 an immature male specimen is most likely :o)

This is a natural light shot at F/6.3, trying to get this shot on a breezy afternoon was sooo frustrating, but I'm happy with this one. Lots of blurred shots on the memory card today LOL.

Wiki info :-

One of the larger damselflies, this species is most common in July and August. It is often found by ponds and lakes, and is very rarely seen along flowing water. Emerald Damselflies like to perch among reeds, their colour providing good camouflage. They are not as strong fliers when compared to other common damselflies such as the Common Blue or Large Red Damselflies, but they are more likely to be seen on misty, rainy days then those species. When disturbed they usually do not fly very far away, landing on another perch a few yards away. Their habit of perching with their wings half open is characteristic of the family Lestidae and gives rise to their other common name of spreadwings. A population can consist of several hundred insects.

All species in the genus Lestes are very similar and are hard to separate in the field. The shapes of the anal appendages are characteristic. In L. sponsa the anal appendage is black with the superior appendage (which are the ones on the outside) with two internal teeth. The inferior appendage is elongated and cylindrical. In northern Europe five species of Lestes occur whilst in Europe as a whole there are six species, so identification can be problematical and it is best to look at as many features as possible.

L. sponsa is a typical member of the genus with a green metallic body and wings held away from the body at rest. The abdomen is 26-33mm long and the wings are 19-23mm long. Mature males have a powder blue colour on the prothorax and on segments 1-2 and 9-10 of the abdomen. Mature males have blue eyes. Females lacks the blue colour. Immature males also lack the blue pruinescence and have greeny brown eyes.

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Finally got out and about today, so I headed over to Wollaton Hall and this was my bonus find the Bark sac spider or Clubiona corticalis.

Clubiona corticalis, the 'Bark sac spider', is a species of 'spiders' belonging to the family Clubionidae.

This species is present in most of Europe and in Central Asia.

The adult males of these spiders reach 6–10 millimetres (0.24–0.39 in) of length, while females are 7–10 millimetres (0.28–0.39 in) long.

Clubiona corticalis

The (prosoma) and the legs are glossy reddish-brown or light brown, except the jaws (chelicerae), that are much darker. The abdomen (opisthosoma) is brown or dark brown, with leaf-shaped central markings on a clearer background. The two sexes are quite similar, except for slender abdomen of males.

Sexually mature spiders can be encountered from April to September in coniferous forests, mainly unders loose bark of dead trees (hence the Latin name corticalis, meaning 'of cortex'), more rarely under stones, but sometimes in houses.

The females lay their eggs in the early Summer, watching over them until they hatch. These spiders usually die at the end of Summer, just some of them overwinter in their nest until next Spring.

Apparently if you get bitten by one of these it can cause 'Immediate pain to finger, followed by blisters on arm.' But do not worry these are very unlikely to bite, the specimen I found displayed no aggression at all.

Anyway, this is a 10 image handheld focus stack and is well worth viewing on black :o)

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An early morning Seven-spot Ladybird covered in dew, really are loads of these appearing now, as I was on my morning walk they were virtually on every tree and fence post I walked past, have not posted a Seven-spot Ladybird for a while :)

The Dead Nettle Leaf Beetle, I thought I'd try something different and this guy was happy to pose on some coloured foam, I have also modified my diffuser, I have placed a cut to size thin piece of white foam inside, I think it has done a good job on the harsh reflections a metallic beetle would usually give, what do you think :)

Found another, yes you've guessed it, a Common Blue Damselfly, this male is still latched onto his girl friend, that's her in the bokeh :)

I was trying to hold back on the Damsel shots today, but sorry just cannot help myself, they are just so cool :)

I went out and the heavens opened, I found this damp little bee on a flower head and I have to say it is possibly the most attractive little creature I ever did see, not sure of ID, any help appreciated :) Glad to see the rain, we really need it :)

This is a 3 image stack, I hope you like :)

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I just liked this shot of a flies head, ther are some nice details and textures here, loads of flies about now, luckily not too many of the bitey variety :)

Oh wow could not believe my luck, when I turned over a bit of wood on wasteland and saw this guy, I was literally elated.

This is a Pseudoscorpion and is one of those bugs that has been on my wish list for years and years, in fact since I was a kid, I was so excited about finding this that I really struggled to get my camera setup right(Lots of swearing LOL).

Eventually I managed a few reasonable shots and this was the best with regards to DOF, lighting was one issue, these guys are so very shiny, but the biggest challenge was this guys maneuverability, they really can run, backwards and forwards. Lots of chasing it with my camera and lots of duff DOF shots.

Here are some Wiki facts :o)

A pseudoscorpion, (also known as a false scorpion or book scorpion), is an arachnid belonging to the order Pseudoscorpionida, also known as Pseudoscorpiones or Chelonethida.

Pseudoscorpions are generally beneficial to humans since they prey on clothes moth larvae, carpet beetle larvae, booklice, ants, mites, and small flies. They are small and inoffensive, and are rarely seen due to their size.

Pseudoscorpions are small arachnids with a flat, pear-shaped body and pincers that resemble those of scorpions. They usually range from 2 to 8 millimetres (0.08 to 0.31 in) in length. The largest known species is Garypus titanius of Ascension Island at up to 12 mm (0.5 in).

The abdomen, known as the opisthosoma, is made up of twelve segments, each protected by plates (called tergites above and sternites below) made of chitin. The abdomen is short and rounded at the rear, rather than extending into a segmented tail and stinger like true scorpions (the fact that they look exactly like scorpions, aside from not having a stinger tail, is the source of the name "Pseudoscorpion"). The color of the body can be yellowish-tan to dark-brown, with the paired claws often a contrasting color. They may have two, four or no eyes.

A pseudoscorpion has eight legs with five to seven segments; the number of fused segments is used to distinguish families and genera. They have two very long pedipalps with palpal chelae (pincers) which strongly resemble the pincers found on a scorpion.

The pedipalps generally consist of an immobile "hand" and "finger", with a separate movable finger controlled by an adductor muscle. A venom gland and duct are usually located in the mobile finger; the poison is used to capture and immobilize the pseudoscorpion's prey. During digestion, pseudoscorpions pour a mildly corrosive fluid over the prey, then ingest the liquefied remains.

Pseudoscorpions spin silk from a gland in their jaws to make disk-shaped cocoons for mating, molting, or waiting out cold weather. However, they do not have book lungs as most of their closest relatives, the spiders, do. They breathe through spiracles, a trait they share with the insects.

NEED TO VIEW ON BLACK

After my walk today I sauntered over to the Embankment for a few early evening night shots, this is the view of Trent Bridge from my side of the Trent, it's only a 5min walk from the house.

I love the look of the water in this long exposure, it looks like glass and the reflections are the best :)

A small metallic green bee on a yellow spring flower in the backyard. UPDATE: thanks to Eddie The Bugman for identifying this as a Sweat Bee, from the family Lasioglossum sp.

Pentax-M 200mm F/4 plus Raynox DCR-250 and off-camera Yongnuo YN-560 III. About 1.6:1 plus a moderate crop. I believe this bee is less than 10mm long.

IMPORTANT:

If you would like to use this photo in a way that is appropriate under its Creative Commons license, you are welcome to do so, but please make sure to credit me by my real name and Flickr handle, and please also include a link to the Flickr page of the photo, as well as a link to the relevant Creative Commons license text. I have put examples of proper attribution on my profile page. Optionally, you may also send me a little note about your use... :)

For any other type of use, please contact me to properly license this image.

Thank you!

(IMGP4793_Cr2Etc)

i cant get the hang of i.d'ing these damsels,too many colour variations.Many thanx to Eddie The Bugman for the i.d

Dolerus niger is a fairly common Sawfly that seems to appear at this time of year, I saw a few on my walk the other day. This one was on a picket fence at Wollaton Park. I can't find any real information about these Sawflies, so if anyone knows any good information about these, I would love to learn more.

For this I was trying out the fill in flash focus stacking technique. I had my camera in aperture priority,an aperture of F/9 and an ISO of 800, I took 7 images for this handheld focus stack. It was unfortunately quite windy and the antennae were all over the shop, so had to do the best I could when editing in Zerene. Again, I quite like the results here, I will definitely continue with this technique and try to refine it :o)

VIEW ON BLACK OR VIEW ORIGINAL FOR DETAILS

Thought I'd give you a break form Springtails (Spring Break LOL), if you remember a few weeks back I did a stack of the female Dicranopalpus ramosus, well I finally found the male of the species on a tree, unfortunately minus a rear leg. You can now compare the male and female, the female has a larger body and it is raised at the back, the male's body is much smaller, there is also quite a difference with the pedipalps, the males being slimmer and lacking a lot of hairs. Also the males chelicerae are markedly bigger than the females.

This is an eight image focus stack at about x3.5 mag using the MP-E, there are some nice details here :)

VIEW LARGE IF YOU DARE LOL :)

Dicranopalpus ramosus is a species of harvestman. Males are up to 4 mm long, females can reach up to 6 mm. Both sexes have very long legs (especially the second pair can reach up to 5 cm), with a distinct elongated apophysis that reaches almost to the end of the tibia. This makes their pedipalps look forked. Their body is brownish with dark markings, the females being lighter colored.

The forked pedipalps and the resting posture, with the legs stretched to the sides, makes this species easy to identify, although the traditional method of collecting invertebrates does not prove adequate: of 103 individuals captured in Belgium, only one was found in a pitfall; all others were collected by hand.

Adults can be found from August to November, mostly in gardens and on outer walls, but sometimes also inside.

Originally the species was found in Morocco. Later it spread into Europe, with first reports in Portugal (1948), where it spread to Spain (1965) and France (1969). The Netherlands were reached in 1992. Since 2004 it is known to occur in Germany. As early as 1957, it was reported in Bournemouth, southern England, from where it spread all over the island, reaching Scotland in 2000. In 2010, one occurrence in Denmark was documented.

On Sunday morning I also found this rather unusual Fly, not one I've seen before, I liked it's multicoloured eyes and crazy antennae, it also appears to have picture style wings. also wish I'd checked my ISO as it was at 400, prefer to use 200 or less.

Having a few PC issues today, everything seems to be on a go slow :(

Any help with ID appreciated :)

Thanks to J.J. Kent and Cladoniophile for ID help

ID Coremacera marginata

To many Large Red Damselflies are so common that they are not that special, they are very special to me, mainly because we don't see these in Nottingham, not sure why? On my walk I found just this one individual and I was more excited about this find than the Variables.

Liked this look on his face, some nice details on that big old compound eye, what a beauty, wonder what I'll find today :)

Primer - Black With Zenith White Highlight

Flesh Tones:

1. Bugmans Glow & Naggorth Night + Retarter (Shadow)

2. Bugmans Glow (Normal Flesh Tone)

3. Bugmans Glow & Fire Dragon Bright (1st Highlights)

4. White Scar (Blended Highlights)

Red Cloth:

1. Khorne Red

2. Khorne Red & Evil Sunz Scarlet

3. White Scar (Blended Highlight)

Blades:

1. Incubi Darkness (Shadow)

2. Leadbelcher (Highlights)

3. Nuln Oil (Gloss Shade)

4. Chainmail (Highlights)

5. Steel Legion Drab (Handles)

6. Retribution Armour

7. Agrax Earthshade Gloss (Shade)

Scabbard:

1. Negro Black

2. Negro Black & Dawnstone (Highlight)

3. Dawnstone (Highlights)

4. Pallid Witch Felsh (Wraps)

Hair:

1. Charred Brown

2. Charred Brown & Balor Brown (Highlights)

3. Agrax Earthshade

Wraps & Boots:

1. Steel Legion Drab

2. Steel Legion Drab & Zandri Dust (Highlights)

3. Screeming Skull (Peak Highlights)

4. Agrax Earthshade (Shade)

Base:

1. Agrellan Earth

2. Agrax Earth Shade

3. Terminus Stone (Dry Paint Dry Brush)

4. Flock

5. Steel Legion Drab (Rim)

Emperor Dragonfly taken from the pontoon at Wilford Claypit. Had a smashing afternoon chatting and snapping with two other flickr members, Eddie the Bugman and LPJC. Click on image to view larger. E-M5/100-300mm.

My first Salticus scenicus of 2012 and this one just did not want to stay put and pose for me LOL :o)

Seemed determined to look at everything but the camera, still really happy to see these about and I'm sure there will be plenty more of these fine and curious Salticidae to find this year.

In a bit of a Spider mood today, apologies to the Arachnophobes, but these are not too bad, kind of cute really :o)

The zebra spider, Salticus scenicus, is a common household jumping spider. Like other jumping spiders, it does not build a web. It uses its four pairs of large eyes to locate prey and its jumping ability to pounce and capture it. Zebra spiders are often noted for their awareness of humans. Upon noticing someone observing them, they can be seen raising their head, and usually change behavior (hence why salticus scenius, theathral jumper).

Female zebra spiders are 5–7 millimetres (0.20–0.28 in) long and males are 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in). The most distinctive feature of these spiders is their two very large eyes, which is typical for jumping spiders. Although they have eight eyes, the two at the front are the largest and give them excellent binocular vision. These tiny spiders are black with white hairs that form stripes

Have a great weekend everyone :o)

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Thought I'd post another from a series of Bee-Fly shots I took a few weeks back, I am hoping to find a few this weekend and try and get a flight shot (If I'm patient enough), they are so coool :)

A male Dicyrtomina saundersi on a decaying leaf, this individual supports the link between colour pigmentation and gender. The theory is that male Dicyrtomina saundersi have more pigmentation on their heads, especially on the cheek area below the ocelli, I will include a shot of the female in the comment section to show the difference.

I have also noticed that males of this species can show much more pigmentation in general on the side of the abdominal area.

This was taken with my MP-E 65mm at full 5x magnification, some cropping involved. I quite like these guys, but for some reason they creep a few people out. These early quotes may not help matters :-

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The creature called forsicula or earwig is said to make its way into the ear, and to occasion not only deafness, but violent pain by its biting; and there is an instance on record of a woman, in whose ear a nest of these infects were lodged, and reduced her to the greatest distress.

— A Practical System of Surgery by James Latta, 1795

Ear-wig, or Forsicula auricularis, L. a well known insect, which has received its name from penetrating into the human ear, where it causes the most acute pains, and even, as some have asserted, eventual death.

— The Domestic Encyclopedia by Willich and Mease, 1803

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The above is of course nonsense, Earwigs are fairly abundant and found in many areas of the world. There is no evidence that they transmit diseases to humans or other animals. Their pincers are commonly believed to be dangerous, but in reality even the curved pincers of males cause little harm to humans. It is a common myth that earwigs crawl into the human ear and lay eggs in the brain. Finding earwigs in the human ear is rare, as most species do not fly and prefer dark and damp areas (such as basements) rather than typical bedrooms.

There is a debate whether earwigs are either harmful or beneficial to crops, as they eat both the insects eating the foliage (such as aphids) and the foliage itself, though it would take a large population to do considerable damage. The common earwig eats a wide variety of plants, and also a wide variety of foliage including the leaves and petals. They have been known to cause economic losses in fruit and vegetable crops. Some examples are the flowers, hops, and corn crops in Germany, and in the south of France, earwigs have been observed feeding on peaches and apricots. The earwigs attacked mature plants and made cup-shaped bite marks 3–11 mm (0.12–0.43 in) in diameter.

VIEW ON BLACK :)

Extra images

Something a bit different, I went to Attenborough today and hoped to do a bit of Bird photography, I walked around for ages and could not find anything, it was overcast and very windy, I eventually came to one of the bird tables and someone had already filled it with food. So I stood there patiently and all the usual customers were coming and going, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Robins and Chaffinches, then this guy turned up and made my day, I've never managed a decent Nuthatch shot before, they are such beautiful little birds and this made my day, until another visitor turned up and made my day again, but you will have to wait for that one LOL :o)

Oh and I got caught in a downpour again, that's everyday this week and they said it wasn't going to rain today, no fair LOL :o)

Hope you are all having a nice weekend :o)

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I found this chap sitting on the railings at Wollaton Park, always starts off as a game of hide and seek, then curiosity gets the better of them, some really sweet details here :)

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO VISIT MY PHOTOSTREAM :)

An update on my aquarium from today.

The growth the last few days have been immense!

Go to YouTube to Check out what inside and how it works:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DWF0mVAmC4

Ralph really wished he'd taken up on that extra pair of specs, he knew they would have come in handy:)

This is one of the most bizarre Mayflies going, Centroptilum luteolum, as well as their regular compound eyes they have turreted compound eyes as well, not to mention large ocelli, I wonder what the world would be like through their eyes, better start drinking now LOL :)