Pseudoscorpions

As the weather warms up, more insects fly inside the house attracted to the light. Last night a small crane-fly came indoors, carrying two hitchhikers....

These are Pseudoscorpions, tiny arachnids which resemble tail-less scorpions. There are around 27 species in the UK and many of these are widespread and fairly common - but very rarely seen due to their minute size!
Most Pseudoscorpions live in leaf litter, or beneath loose bark where they search for even smaller invertebrates to eat, including springtails, mites, and small insect larvae. They are completely harmless to humans, but can inject their prey with venom from their claws. Some species are found in old book collections where they specialise in feeding on booklice.

The crane-fly who carried the passengers.

Pseudoscorpions commonly attach themselves to flying insects - for a free ride to new feeding territory, which also exposes them to new potential mates from other bloodlines. I have previously found some larger species attached to larger crane-flies, so perhaps these are a choice mode of transport when they emerge from their pupa in the soil.

Photo to show size, body length just under 2mm

Male and female Pseudoscorpions perform a 'dance' to start the mating ritual, I think that was going on with these two, although they soon separated and walked away from each other.

Pseudoscorpion dance

Tawny Mining Bee

Andrena fulva

11-14mm

April to May

A striking solitary bee that can appear very bright when the sunlight catches the thick abdominal hair. Females make small volcano-like mounds in short grass including garden lawns, where they stock a burrow with pollen for their larvae.

 Female basking (blurry photo- taken from a distance!)

 Female emerging from nest burrow in sandy woodland path. 

The nest entrance is often higher in a cone shape due to the excavated soil. 

Widespread and common throughout much of England and Wales, appearing for only a few weeks in the spring, but absent from most of Scotland.

Females are much more vivid than males due to the dense hair, which also makes them appear more bulky. Males are duller – only being tawny on the thorax - with white hair on the face and long slender jaws. Older females will appear paler, sometimes fading to dull yellow.

Female comparison with smaller, duller male. 

Male specimen profile view showing the characteristic tooth on the underside of each mandible. 

Females bare a sting, but as with most mining bees it is not strong enough to pierce human skin.

Both sexes feed at various tree blossom, bramble blossom and low growing flowers such as dandelions and bluebells. Both sexes can often be seen basking on stones or vegetation like many other mining bees. 

Male feeding at dandelion flower.

Hornet

Vespa crabro

21-32mm (Worker)

28-39mm (Male & Queen)

Late May to October

Britain’s largest social wasp, the hornet is often feared due to its large size and loud droning buzz, but it is actually one of the most docile social wasps and even a fully active nest can be observed at very close range.

Queens emerge in mid to late spring, usually looking for a nest site after most other social insects. Occurring mainly in southern England and East Anglia, the preferred nest site is often a hollow tree in old woodland, but once established the workers will fly far from the nest in search of food. Emerging Queens may enter homes in search of suitable nest sites but can be easily let outside through a window. 

 Large Queen found searching for a nest site at the edge of a woodland clearing.

The first workers raised by the queen - seen around June - are much smaller than the workers and males produced later in the year. Males have longer antennae with 13 segments rather than the 12 of females. They are also stingless, much like other male wasps, and the abdomen has 7 segments rather than the female’s 6, ending in a blunter tip. 

 Male specimen

Another male showing darker variation in markings. 

Markings are chestnut-red and dull yellow, rather than the black and yellow of other social wasps, and the deeply notched eyes are brown. Wings are translucent orange-brown.

both sexes have a yellow head with very large powerful jaws for killing and macerating prey – including butterflies, wasps, grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars and sometimes carrion. Adults will also feed at tree sap and over-ripe fruits such as fallen apples. The three ocelli on top of the head are surrounded by a small patch of brown or red (examples of Vespa crabro from outside of Britain will have a red or brown tone to the whole top and back of the head). 

Queen Vespa crabro comparison with other British social wasp Queens.

Male Vespa crabro comparison with other British social wasp males. 

Unlike most social wasps, hornets are active both day and night, and can be attracted to lights, sometimes showing up in moth traps.

The large mated queens over-winter in sheltered spots - sometimes garden sheds, or under logs.

The hover-fly Volucella inanis is often seen buzzing around hornet nests as its larvae live as scavengers within the hornet colony. 

Queen and worker Vespa crabro showing size difference. 

The head of the Queen is also usually bulkier than any workers. 

The large hover-fly Volucella zonaria (left) is an excellent mimic of Vespa crabro - especially in flight where the colouration and sound mimics the hornet exactly.

Hornets are far less likely to be attracted to human foods as other social wasps, and are often attracted to carrion where they carve small pieces of meat away to take back to the larvae in the nest.  

The Bee-Wolf

Philanthus triangulum

9-18mm

July to September

This wasp is a specialist predator of the Honey Bee Apis mellifera. The large females can be observed around flowers of all kinds as they stalk and grab their victim, usually whilst the honey bee is feeding. Once caught, the female bee-wolf uses her sting to paralyse the honey bee and carry it off to her nesting burrow, usually dug in light sandy soil, sand dune or even in flat sand on a beach. Each female will make one burrow, which could have several internal chambers, but many females maybe nest close to each other and this is where they are usually spotted, along with the much smaller males. The females often appear larger in flight as they carry the prey slung under the body. 

Female specimen - collected whilst still clutching Apis mellifera worker. 

Two females, showing strong variation in yellow patterning. 

Both sexes have very large heads, with clearly visible ocelli and large compound eyes.  Abdominal patterns can vary, but generally the female has smaller black triangles on each segment of the gaster, with some specimens having completely yellow gasters. Both sexes have large pale yellow or cream areas on the face, and large jaws, especially in the female.

Specimens still in mating posture. Male is much smaller and shows the typical yellow facial markings.

Face of the female bee-wolf, and above, the large jaws and ocelli. 

Other readily identifiable characteristics include: 

- Antennae are stout and thickened towards the middle.

- Females often have red or orange pigmentation behind the eyes and on the forelegs.

- Forelegs of female have combs for shifting sand and soil.

- Bee-wolves can also be found taking nectar from flowers such as creeping thistle and bramble blossom.

Once rare in Britain, now fairly common in localised areas of south-east England, especially in coastal ranges but also found in forests, suburban and urban settings.

two males, showing typical darker form than females, although females can sometimes be very black. 

Cardinal Beetle

Pyrochroa coccinea

17-21mm

Late April to July

The vibrant velvety red elytra and pronotum make this beetle stand out when at rest on tree trunks or feeding at flowers. The large flattened larvae live under loose bark where they predate smaller invertebrates. The larvae are easily recognised by the sturdy forked projection at the tail end. They remain under the bark to pupate and emerge as adults in late spring.

The head and serrated antennae are black, as well as the legs and underside. The hind-wings are also very dark and the beetle flies regularly in the sun across woodland paths.

Both sexes look very similar, but females are often slightly broader. The elytra are fairly soft and flexible.

When handled or alarmed the cardinal beetle will emit a pleasant sweet odour.

Fairly common and widespread in southeast England and Wales, occurring most frequently in deciduous forest and parkland.

P.serraticornis (top, in the photo above) is the most similar species but easily distinguished by its red head, and the overall colour is often more orange than the vivid crimson of P.coccinea.

Bagworm Moth caterpillar

I recently found an odd creature which at first glance looked like a moving lump of bark or lichen...

After a bit of googling I have realised it's a 'Bagworm' larvae, belonging to the moth family Psychidae. These larvae are quite similar to caddis fly larvae, in that they collect tiny fragments of debris from their surrounding area and weave a protective case to cover their soft body. The one in the photos is around 11mm long, and is the first one I have ever seen, so not sure about species yet. It seems to be feeding on moss and maybe some sort of lichen in the bark, although I can't see it, so must be eating really tiny amounts of whatever it is!

Amongst the debris on it's back, there is a small exuvia from the headcase (I think!).... I think this could be used to maybe ID the specimen, but the photos aren't great... will probably be easier to see what kind of moth it turns into....