Wolves Wild

These inconspicuous buds will later develop into privet flowers.

Beautiful demoiselles are damsel flies which can be common near water in the spring. Because they are relatively weak fliers, they can be pictured resting on vegetation, often in bright light.

Two individuals are pictured in this series of pictures. Both are males. The males have a bright shiny turquoise or electric blue body, with wings which can vary in colour from pale brown to a brown so dark it approaches black; or wings similar in colour to the body. Females have a green body.

These two were both spending most of their time warming up shortly after they first appeared for the day, just before noon on one of the hot days at the end of May. They were in the woods near the river Blythe in the Marsh Lane LNR, Hampton in Arden.

Spotted growing on a tree stump in a pub garden. Quite possibly the reason the tree needed to be cut down in the first place.

A tiny ladybird, yellow-spotted on a black background, was clinging to the underside of one of the leaves of this flowering nettle.

Cultivated ornamental species.

A tractor adds colour to this view of the tower and spire of Worfield church emerging from the surrounding trees.

They look almost good enough to eat: supposedly this is possible once they have been cooked to break down an unpleasant alkaloid they contain. I haven’t tried it.

This bee was one of many insects attracted to the gorse bush in the Dutch Garden at Bantock Park on a warm midday.

As I was out early one morning I came across a bush where it seemed that every other leaf had a different snail feeding on it.

The warm weather at the end of May brought on the flowers – and the insects which feed on them.

A hawthorn hedge was covered with flowers, which were attracting a crowd of honey bees.

The bees had already gathered so much nectar that it looked like they would be overloaded for take-off.

The hawthorn nectar (in the combs on their back legs) is a pale straw colour.

This sequence of moorhens taking their chicks for one of their first outings on the water was taken a month ago on the Staffs & Worcs canal near Castlecroft.

Same set of birds as above, still out on the water having ventured further from the nest.