Wolves Wild

Himalayan balsam, an intrusive plant which now grows in great abundance, especially beside streams and canals. The delicate-looking pink or white flowers are attractive to bees and other pollinating insects.

Large clumps of giant polypore fungus around a tree stump at the edge of Himley churchyard. The tree was also infested with the horse’s hoof fungus. The fungi between them were probably the reason the tree needed felling.

Earthball fungi among the summer leaf litter on the ground of Himley Plantation. Some of this group of fungi were attracting small insects.

Blue of one of the water mint flowers on the pool at Compton Park, seen against the greens of the leaves of mints and reeds.

The male ruddy darter dragonfly featured in the previous post, now launched on another flight to defend its territory on Compton Park pool from the two interlopers.

New species, to me at least, of dragonflies on the pool at Compton Park. Three male ruddy darters yesterday, contesting for territory.

The largest area of open water remaining at the pool, by the decking, has been divided up for territory between three male common darters. Yesterday afternoon at another patch of open water, smaller and more hemmed in by reeds, the insect pictured here would briefly pause resting on the broken reed which was its look-out post before repeatedly taking off to repel one or both of a couple of challengers. When the insects stayed still for a moment and could be seen more clearly, they looked just like miniature versions of the common darters which were ten or twenty yards away.