Ivy Visitors 5

Top of the ivy league today, the central image, is a wasp. I think it is a German wasp, Vespa germanica. Wasps can be a bit annoying this time of year but they're important pollinators. As the weather is warm they're very lively and I've been struggling to get a face-on shot. I wanted this as it's helpful for identification. The German wasp has a butterfly-shaped yellow mark on its 'forehead' and two spots which look a bit like a doggy-nose.

I'm keeping to the spirit of blip and only posting images taken on the day. I'm trying to post new species every day but am struggling as my big ivy bush hasn't come into bloom yet. Once it does it's usually buzzing.

I've included a male Nigma walckenaeri spider under its web. It differs from the female that I posted the other day as it has a brown cephalothorax. Another fruit fly/gall fly. This has slightly longer wings than the one I posted yesterday. A couple of flies, a red-eyed bug, a tiny ichneumon wasp, a Mirid and a minute, small red slender moth.