Coming in to land....

At last it was dry enough to visit Brampton Wood, to gather quadrat data for the rides. Although it felt like rain was never far away, there were some warm sunny spells, when the fragrant meadowsweet-fringed rides swarmed with butterflies and hoverflies.

There were also quite a few spotted longhorn beetles Rutpela maculata, buzzing from flower to flower. I managed to catch this one just as it was coming in to land on some meadowsweet blossom. They really are rather ungainly when they fly, and make a very distinctive whirring sounds. It seems to take a lot of effort and they don't usually seem to go to far before resting for a snack of nectar!