Pyramidal Orchids at Swaddywell

As a celebration of National Insect Week I had a hunt round the garden to see what I could find in the way of insects. I mostly concentrated on the smaller and more easily overlooked species, though couldn't resist a few more shots of the many Common Blue damselflies that we have. 

One of the highlights for me was discovering a colony of the bug Capsus ater, with about seven or eight individuals running around in unmown grass near the large pond. We've recorded occasional individuals previously, but this is the first time we've confirmed that it's breeding, which means that we'll have to make sure that our long grass is cut fairly high later in the summer. Unlike most capsid bugs, it feeds low down on the stems, rather than on flower spikes and developing grains.

In the evening I had a gentle walk round Swaddywell Pit where the variety and sheer number of orchids and other wildflowers is breathtaking. Other images from Swaddywell can be seen here.