Weekend Bumblebees

The hot weather this weekend has been an ideal opportunity to look for bumblebees and the wild flowers that grow alongside the river are perfect location.
Trying to identify bumblebees can be difficult as not only do several species have the same colour, but the same species can have different colours - so clarifications and corrections are most welcome.
This one is a female worker, probably a white tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) -although garden bumblebees look very similar.
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Although a nunesance in a lot of lawns, the flowering clover is particular attractive to bumblebees especially this female common carder bee (Bombus pascuorum):
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With it's black body and red tail, this female worker is probably a red tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius):
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Although this bee has different colours, it is probably the same species as the red tailed above, but this is a male.

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This bumblebee is probably a queen, as it is a lot larger than the males and workers.  The red tail would suggest that it is also a red tailed bumblebee.  But the dark wings could indicate that it is actually a cuckoo bumblebee (Bombus rupestris):

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Lesser stag beetles

At first glance, this rather impressive insect could be a female stag beetle. It's the same size - almost 3cm long, has similar jaws and almost identical wing cases and thorax.
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The stage beetle has three spines on the middle segment of it's leg, yet this one only has one. Which according toe the Collins Complete Guide to British Insects identify it is a lesser stag beetle.
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This one was on our patio doors, so it could have recently emerged from our log pile, as they spend up to four years as grubs, feeding on dead wood before pupating. It can then spend up to a year it's adult form as it seeks a mate.
Another encounter with a stag beetle and the fate of this one is less certain. Seen on the Thames path, it has either been attacked by a bird, or more likely, squashed by one of the many walkers who use the path.
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More from the water voles at Radley Brook

Most lunch breaks spent watching water voles  usually involve half an hour watching an ignored apple core slowly going brown:.
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Sometimes, a water vole may appear then disappear into the reed beds, offering only the slightest of glimpses as it carries of it's prize:
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.Yet on days like today, they sit and eat the apple core in front of you:.
.Before, once again, returning to the reeds with the apple core:.

Annoying insects?

Mayfly have featured in this blog several times, having spent over a year as larvae, eating algae those that have survived being eaten by fish, crayfish and dragonfly larvae emerge from the river in late spring and become adults.  With no mouth or stomach closeup they appear almost alien.
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The e lucky one ones will live for a day during which they will attract a mate, reproduce, lay eggs and die:
Whilst, the unlucky ones just become part of the food chain. Having survived them as nymphs, adult mayfly are a target for adult dragonflies and damselflies, who find the males easy prey as they bounce up and down in the air trying to attract a mate.
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These along, with the mayfly are prey for swifts who have returned to Abingdon after spending the winter in Africa to raise their young. Darting above the river at high speed, making the most of this abundance of winged insects (making them rather tricky to photograph).
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The swifts - along with the damselflies, dragonflies and the unfortunate mayfly - are in turn prey to a small bird the size of the kestrel with the flying pattern of a swift; these are hobbies that have also returned from Africa and on occasions can be seen darting above the Ock:.

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Although when swarming in large numbers they can be an annoyance on a early summer walk, the mayfly in their larval and adult forms are probably one of the most important creatures on the river and without them we wouldn't have the dragonflies, birds, fish and otters that make the Ock such an enjoyable place to walk.

The water voles of Radley Brook

A small stream in North East Abingdon, Radley Brook has featured several times in this blog. Unfortunately, due to this proximity to the Thames, it is ideal hunting territory for mink, who have been seen this year in the nearby lagoon,  making it probably the most fragile water vole colony in Abingdon.  

The thick and tall sedge can make it virtually impossible to see if the water voles are still hanging on or if the colony is now extinct.

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A good way to see if they are still present is to throw down a small apple core and see if any thing takes it.... after a month of waiting a water vole finally appears and it seems to be a juvenile, so not only are the water voles still present, but they are breeding.

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Watching water voles whilst listening to the nearby warblers and the occasional cuckoo, make it one of the best places to spend a lunch break in Abingdon.

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