Nuptial gifts...

Another early start to the day, taking Alex to the station. I can't believe that he's only got five more days at college! Then time for a bit of work before taking Ben to his second chemistry exam at St Neots. Once again he coped well with the experience, though the exam wasn't too good, and he realised that he'd made a number of mistakes as a result of his high stress levels. Still it's over now, and there's no point in dwelling on it.

We arrived home about 3.30 and after a welcome cup of tea I took Rosie to the river. This is my retreat, the place where I can walk and think. I'd also hoped to do some insect photography, but the cold grey weather meant that few creatures were about. But just as I'd almost given up I spotted this pair of scorpion flies on a purple willow.

Perhaps the most interesting, and most studied aspect of scorpion flies is their courtship and mating behaviour. During courtship the male presents the female with a dead insect as a nuptial gift. The female eats this during copulation - you can see her doing this on the right side of the image.

The female is attracted to the male by a pheromone he emits from pouches near the rear end of his abdomen. The male hangs from foliage by his front legs wafting this pheromone in the hope of attracting a female. When a female presents herself he shows her his nuptial gift. She probes it while he rubs her abdomen. If she rejects the gift she will refuse to mate. If she accepts is she will allow mating to begin. A bit like a box of chocolates and a massage?