What beautiful eyes you have...

I'm totally shattered tonight, having been out all day training a group of Wildlife Trust employees in grassland survey and management. We were so lucky with the weather, and the group were both interested and stimulating, but there was never a moment to relax! Trying to simplify a very complicated topic and deal with a wide range of questions, often in quick succession, is exhausting. I love leading training days, but could never do it full time!!

Anyway, there was really no time for photography, despite visiting some very nice sites, so this evening I delved around in the fridge to see what specimens were lurking there. This is the twin-lobed deer-fly Chrysops relictus, a species hated by many, because of its painful bite, but you must agree it has the most stunningly coloured eyes!

It's preferred habitat is damp floodplain meadows, but it will use other moist areas and woodland, particularly if there is mud or soft wet ground close by. The adults can give humans a painful bite, and the females suck the blood of grazing animals, whilst males feed on flower pollen. The larvae feed upon organic matter in damp soils, and are termed hydrobionts in that they inhabit areas of high water content.

It seems quite an appropriate subject for National Insect Week, which is organised every two years by the Royal Entomological Society. Yesterday Pete was out training a group of Wildlife Trust volunteers in entomological survey as part of this initiative. There are lots of fascinating events being organised this weekend, so maybe check out their website and see if there's something happening near you...