Gimme shelter.....

This is a frequent sight in our garden early in the morning at this time of year - a seven-spot ladybird holed up inside (well, almost inside) the follicles of a columbine seed head. I don't think they go in for anything that's edible - they just seem to find it a good place to spend the night.  

It's always worth avoiding the temptation to tidy up too soon in a garden in autumn, and instead leaving seed heads on plants throughout winter - aside from the seeds that they provide for birds, many provide shelter for small, overwintering insects.

Some, like this and this and this, also turn into very attractive 'skeletons'.

Owl midges

With the days shortening and the lights going on earlier every evening, many more nocturnal insects are attracted to lit windows. This tiny, delta-winged owl midge (aka moth fly) peered at us through our kitchen window last night.

Aside from their unusual delta-winged shape and overall hairiness, owl midges are peculiar amongst flies in having long, uninterrupted wing veins with no cross veins.

For a more detailed description of these very common insects, click here

The irresistible attraction of fermented plums

After a bumper plum harvest, the last few fallers have attracted a host of insects, including ......

...... bluebottles and greenbottles ........

....... hosts of these little vinegar flies (aka fruit flies) .....

...... a yellow fly with red eyes that might be a dung fly .....

..... and several of these lovely red admirals.