Friday, 23 April 2021

The Return of the Insects: Ants and Wasps in Suffolk


 

I have been in the CEV Covid-19 category and in receipt of government letters so have hardly left the house for a year. However, I am now fully vaccinated and able to enjoy a little more of the world beyond my window. We took a trip to Sutton Hoo today to see the bluebells (ah, bluebells! how I missed them last year), and while we were there, encountered this tiny ant laboriously moving a large white bundle from one place to another over the scrubby heathland floor. The bundle looks a bit cocoon-like. We have posted David's photo (the top one) on iSpot, but do leave a comment if you know what is going on. 

The photos below were taken just up the road from Sutton Hoo at Sutton Heath. I am guessing the black insect with red abdominal stripes is a sand-wasp of some variety. I will add an ID if I can find one!




P.S. Update on the two Sutton Heath photos immediately above. 

Thanks to one of the kind people on iSpot I now know that this is a Black Banded Spider Wasp (Anoplius (Arachnophroctonus) viaticus). There is more information here. I love it when I see (what is to me) a new species; the sandy heathland here in Suffolk produces unusual surprises like this from time to time. 



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