Mastodawn

Hope despite it all.

@doddington That would surely involve having a VPN & lying to Auntie about having a licence. I can’t believe that you’re making such a suggestion, Mr Doddington … 🐝

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Mark McCaughrean 1d ago

@jarjan I knew it was going to get significantly colder & it has been drizzling on & off this morning, but I was rather taken by surprise when it thundered 😬

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Mark McCaughrean 1d ago

@NatureMC Yep, we’re forecast sub-zero temperatures at night later this week: not helpful. Probably little snow here at 200m, but the top of the valley is above 500m & should get some, while the Schwarzwald further south may get more.

Mark McCaughrean 1d ago

Spring appears to have been postponed here in southern Germany 😬✌️

A rumble of thunder was followed by this sudden downpour of hail, heralding several days of cold weather thanks to an Arctic blast sweeping down from the collapsed polar vortex 🌩️🌨️

Temperature drops of 15-20°C & fresh snow forecast for many places across Europe 🥶

Fingers crossed it doesn’t completely screw up the many flora & fauna that have emerged in our garden in the past fortnight 🤞

Mark McCaughrean 2d ago

Always worth a last visit to the garden before the sun sets over the opposite side of the valley, just in case someone's enjoying the final warmth 🌞

Today that was one of the big beasts – a female European nursery web spider (Pisaura mirabilis; Listspinne in 🇩🇪).

When it bored of being photo'd, it excreted two large clear blue-green droplets & disappeared 🤷‍♂️

#Heidelberg 🏰
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Mark McCaughrean 2d ago

And to add a little drama to your day, this harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis; Asiatischer Marienkäfer in 🇩🇪) would like a word ... 😱

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Mark McCaughrean 2d ago

Is it a beetle or is it a fly? 🧐

Hard to tell from a distance, but close up, it becomes obvious that Camarota curvipennis (Krummflügelige Halmfliege in 🇩🇪) is a fly, but one that wraps its wings around its bum in order to deceive.

Tiny little fellows, just 2-3mm in size, so hard to get super-crisp photos, at least handheld with my gear. But you get the idea 🙂👍

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Mark McCaughrean 3d ago

Bonus garden beastie.

This small spider was hanging around in the ivy – it looked a lot lighter coloured to the eye, but the macro brings out the brown speckled markings.

It's very likely a running crab spider, genus Philodromus. Best guess is P. albidus or P. rufus, two rather similar species.

#Heidelberg 🏰
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Mark McCaughrean 3d ago

And something rather aesthetically pleasing, a common garden friend – the white-lipped or garden banded snail (Cepaea hortensis).

It has not one but three German names: Garten-Bänderschnecke, Garten-Schnirkelschnecke, or Weißmündige Bänderschnecke. Take your pick 🇩🇪

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