Well, its Easter this weekend, and here in the UK it means a 4 day weekend. It meant there was a great opportunity to catch up on some chores that I've been putting off for ages now.
I made a great start to the day, I popped to the shops, I washed the pots, I got a load of washing out on the line. I was doing so well...
And then I made the mistake of stopping for lunch.
It was such a lovely day out there, that I decided to go and eat out in the garden... while I was munching on a rather boring cheese sandwich, I had a wander around to see if there was anything interesting...
Cucumber Green Orb Spider - Araniella cucurbitina
Lo and behold there was! On one of the Buddleia leaves was a tiny little green spider. I initially though it was Nigma walckenaeri but looking at the image now I believe this is one of the Orb Weaver spiders, a lovely little spider (although I don't really like the common name lol)
Further down I saw several of these Dock Bugs (Coreus marginatus) sat around on the leaves, warming themselves in the sun...
...and then I spotted this Mining Bee (Andrena species) on a plant close by.
You know what?...Screw it!
I'd had a productive morning, and it was a gorgeous day out here. I decided to go grab some extension tubes and a better lens for my camera, and I was going to go on an impromptu Garden Safari.
Perennial Wallflower 'Bowles Mauve' - Erysimum
I have mentioned several times about going on a Safari in your Garden.
So many people assume that to see exciting wildlife they need to visit a Nature Reserve or even a foreign country...and yet there is much life to see our own backyards, quite literally beneath our feet
To prove that point here is a selection of invertebrates seen in the space of 2 hours:
(remember, this is just a rather small and ordinary suburban garden)
Hairy-footed Flower Bee - Anthophora plumipes (male)
These distinctive bees are often the first species of bee I see each year, the male is orange/yellow and the female is almost completely black.
Ruby Tiger Moth caterpillar - Phragmatobia fuliginosa
I have seen a couple of caterpillars so far this year, this one belongs to the Ruby Tiger moth which is fairly common, and I will start see the adults in the Moth Trap in 4-6 weeks.
Green Shieldbug - Palomena prasina
The first one of these that I have seen this year, always nice to come across. The Hairy Shieldbug is much more common in my garden but I've not seen that yet...
Nursery Web Spider Pisaura mirabilis
Another Spider!
I saw 5 of these today, all sat low down in vegetation. While I respect all wildlife, I will admit that I struggle to like spiders, especially the big hairy ones. Nursery Web Spiders are pretty cool though. The name comes from the fact that when the female lays her eggs, she bundles up in a ball of protective webbing, and literally sits on top of them, protecting that bundle. If you don't believe me then check out the SOURCE
Forget-me-nots
A lovely splash of blue, we planted 1 small plant in the corner of the garden 4 years ago, and it self-seeds so prolifically that the whole flower bed turns blue for a bout 4 weeks...
Hairy Shieldbug - Dolycoris baccarum
Ah, there we go. Here is a Hairy Shieldbug (I was beginning to get worried!)
Hairy Shieldbug - Dolycoris baccarum
...And I picked him (or her?) up for a closer look
Scarlet Lily Beetle - Lilioceris lilii
Oh dear... its gonna start getting complicated now. I'm not a gardener, my partner is. And while I'm quite happy looking at the cool stuff around us, she has a different view on some of these.
This little Beetle is the top of her Most-Hated list. It decimates Lilies, so efficiently, that they doesn't even mange to flower. It is a pest of cultivated Lilies right across the country.
Shame really, cos that Scarlet Red colour is simply gorgeous!
Red Mason Bee - Osmia bicornis
This time of year is when the solitary bee's start to emerge. We have already mentioned a Mining Bee (Andrena sp) and a Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes), now its time for a Mason Bee. They get their name from the way they 'build' nest chambers in tubes out of wet mud. Leaf cutter Bees do the same, except they use sections of leaf to build the nest chambers
The image above shows a male who has recently emerged from one of the tubes in the 'Bee Hotel'. He is waiting for a female to emerge so he can mate with her.
Crab Spider - Xysticus species
Green Lacewing - Chrysoperla carnea
Red Mason Bee - Osmia bicornis
Here is a better picture of one of the Red Mason Bees, can you see some white hairs on the front of it's head (like a moustache?) this identifies it as a male.
That's probably a piece of information you will never ever need to use. You're welcome 😂
Grass Mirid Bug - Stenodema species?
Here is another bug, lots of these look quite similar, so the ID on this one is only a guess
And a garden safari in Spring wouldn't be complete without a Wasp Queen.
This is one of the social wasps, almost certain Vespula vulgaris but there are a couple of similar looking species. She is in the process of stripping some of the wood off this fence panel, she will chew it up and take it away and use it to build her nest
So there you have it, 13 different species photographed, and that didn't include a Peacock butterfly, a Red-tailled Bumble Bee and a species of Ground Beetle that I also saw.
When I say there is a World of Wonder beneath our feet, do you believe me now?
[er and yes, I'll carry on with my list of jobs tomorrow... unless I get distracted again!]
Thank you for reading, I hope you found it interesting.
If you have any thoughts or opinions on this article then I'd love to see your comments.
And if you really like the content then maybe you would like to upvote or re-hive it.
Websites used in naming various species
https://www.naturespot.org.uk
https://www.ukmoths.org.uk
https://species.wikimedia.org
All Photos taken by 
Check out my website for more of my work.