My fledgling list of wildflowers seen in the garden in 2021 has doubled today.
1. Daisy (20 February)
2. Violet (18 March)
3. Chickweed (19 March)
4. Dandelion (19 March)
The Chickweed was tiny and was almost hidden in between paving slabs, but the Dandelion was positively shining in the sunlight, our first decent sunlight for days.
There were quite a few 7-spot Ladybirds and even more Pine ones, including a mating pair. You can see the distinctive rim in the photo below. These ladybirds are very small.
The photo below shows the difference in size between the two varieties.
I noticed one snail in between some old planks of decking.
Unfortunately I could not really see the lip of its shell to see if it was brown. I gather we are likely to return to dark cloud tomorrow so I expect I will have to wait a bit longer for my first butterfly. My earliest Bee-fly sighting here in Suffolk was on 24th March, so perhaps I will see one of these this year before a Peacock, Red Admiral or Brimstone graces our garden.
I had not realised the Pine Ladybird was so small, having not seen one. A photo of them can be quite misleading on the size. Still no Dandelions flowering here as yet but we have had a good sunny week so they should not be long.
ReplyDeleteAmanda xx
Excellent photo of the two ladybirds showing the difference in sizes!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Amanda and CGP, for your kind comments. I'm not sure if all Pine Ladybirds are as small as the ones in my photos, but they are usually smaller than the 7-spots.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I had not previously heard of a Pine Ladybird or seen one. What a lovely post and photos. All good wishes ~ Mike.
ReplyDeleteYes, Pine Ladybirds are lovely little insects!
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