Dr LJBees

Female Sapyga quinquepunctata spotted! These are so pretty 😍, with multicoloured abdomen and purple-shimmer wings.

She'll be hanging around trying to sneak an egg into unfinished mason cells, where her larvae will unsurp the bee larvae.

It's a 1:1 exchange with these sort of cleptoparasites ("stealing" parasite), so unlikely to make a big impact on the bee population.

Looking for ways to help support birds 🐦🐦‍⬛ in the garden while reducing supplementary feeding?

We've put our various heads together at Wildlife Garden Project and come up with our best tips, tricks and general good ideas - and we're putting on a 'pay what you can' webinar next Tuesday to talk all about it!

Learn about which lovely free ""weeds"" are basically a free source of bird food, that you don't need to clean. Why letting things bolt and bloom and get covered in aphids might be just what the ornitholoigcal doctor ordered.

Pick our brains; ask that weird question you've been wondering about; and see what you can bring to your own green space and feathered mates! 🐦🐛🕸🌿☘️

Tickets here: https://learn.wildlifegardenproject.com/talks/feedthebirds

Learn How to Help Your Garden Birds | Wildlife Garden Project Join our live Q&A to learn how to feed and support garden birds safely and naturally. Get expert tips on plants, seeds, and creating bird-friendly gardens.

Seasonal swapover at the bee hotels. Fairly sure the O.cornuta have finished now, replaced by O.bicornis (red mason), and a couple of Osmia caerulescens (blue mason), checking out the 6mm holes.

As we move through the year, we're seeing more kelptoparasites and predators lurking around. On this site (e.g. my wall) it seems that the O.cornuta are up earlier than their parasites, but the O.bicornis are lined up.

There are a couple of male Sapyga quinquepunctata hanging around, presumably waiting for ladies to turn up. These are a 'cuckoo' wasp, sneaking an egg into an open cell of an Osmia bee. The wasp larvae hatches with HUGE jaws, eats the egg or bee larvae, then molts away its battle jaws and focuses on eating the pollen instead. They aren't generally a problem for the population, since it's a 1:1 replacement.

Live Q&A this month with Wildlife Garden Project - focusing on managing gardens for birds in a way that helps provide more natural food sources. Tickets are pay-as-you-can; everyone welcome! Pick our brains 🧠

If the recent guidance around feeding garden birds has left you feeling a bit unsure, confused, or even worried, join us on the 12th May!

We’re hosting a live Q&A where our team of experts including , and will answer your questions and help you feel confident about what to do to support the birds in your garden.

Together, we’ll explore:

🥜The dos and don’ts of supplementary bird feeding
🌱What to plant to provide natural food for birds like seeds and berries
🌻How to identify which plants you already have that could support birds if left to go to seed
🐛How to provide for invertebrates to support birds and their chicks

We want this session to be available to everyone, so tickets are on a pay what you can basis. If you’re able to contribute, your support helps us continue creating free and accessible wildlife gardening education. If you’re not in a position to pay right now, you’re very welcome to join us for free.

Hope you can make it and please tell your friends, family, and everyone you know who enjoys watching birds in their garden! 🐦

Link in comments💚

Are you driving anywhere this weekend? Make sure you're taking part in Bugs Matter!

🪰 You can now be a citizen scientist from now until Wednesday 30 September across the UK, the Republic of Ireland and now France, for the first time, whilst driving your vehicle!

📲 If you have a Smartphone and are travelling for work or pleasure, why not take part? You can do so following these easy steps:
1️⃣ Download the app which is available free in both IOS and Android;
2️⃣ Create an account to sign up;
3️⃣ Start surveying on any journey you make in a vehicle between 1 April to 30 September.

👍The more journeys you conduct the survey on, the better – and counts of zero bugs are just as important to submit.

Find out more and sign up
👇
https://www.buglife.org.uk/get-involved/surveys/bugs-matter/

🚗 Make every journey count this weekend 🚗


Bugs Matter is the citizen science survey from Kent Wildlife Trust and Buglife, with support from RSPB .


Noé Conservation Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle Office pour les insectes et leur environnement (Opie)

LET'S GO CITY NATURE CHALLENGE!

Bother those bugs! Spot those birds! Get down with a plant! 🦆🐛🦋🕷🌷🌱