The Holly (Blue) And The Ivy

My Blip today is really about the ivy. I was planning to go to a nature reserve but saw this lovely little Holly Blue on the ivy outside my back door so decided to stay at home. 

Ivy is just starting to come into flower and is important for all sorts of insects. I positioned myself under a bush on our drive that is a bit more forward. It was buzzing. I could feel the the little packets dropped by the bugs landing on me. 

At first I concentrated on the wasps which were in the majority. How hairy they are! Then the hoverflies, so many different shapes and sizes. The largest to visit was a hornet mimic, Volucella zonaria, actually the biggest in Britain.

Then I heard a different sort of buzzing and an insect brushed past me. It was a hornet. These seem to me to bumble, their legs dangle and they can't seem to make up their minds where to settle. I got a shot but the insect was quite high. It then had a go at a pair of wasps and I have a grainy image of what appears to be it with the disembodied head of a wasp. Soon afterwards another appeared, searched out another hornet and they went into battle. They do seem to be quite aggressive creatures.

Looking forward to capturing the thrills and spills of insect life when my backdoor bush comes into bloom. :)