About 650 spider species are found in the UK, and about 450 live in the New Forest. One of my regular encounters in the summer is the Raft Spider. Its normal habitat is near water, where it can skate on the surface. The Raft Spider can also live underwater for up to about 20 minutes. They seem to favour wild mint plants to hide on in the area where we have found them.
They are active from spring through autumn. The best time to see them is during the breeding season from May to July.
After a wet Monday and a Tuesday morning, the rain stopped, and the sun came out, so did the Dragonflies and Damselflies.
Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve.
Broad-bodied Chaser (male)
Azure Damselflies.
Large Red Damselfly.
Norfolk Hawker.
Four-spotted Chaser.
Today’s pictures are all a bit closer.
Looking under some corrugated froofing sheet, I was hoping to see some snakes or slow worms, but it was a surprise to see a Common Frog.
Banded Demoiselle (male)
Banded Demoiselle (female)
Painted Lady, this year seems to be a good year for this large butterfly. A summer visitor to the UK, their numbers fluctuate drastically. British winters are too cold for them to survive, so large numbers migrate annually from North Africa and southern Europe, arriving from late spring through early autumn.
Broad-bodied Chaser female
Now we are into May, and the sun is out. Dragonflies are starting to appear.
Emperor Dragonfly through the reeds.
Four-spotted Chacer.
Little things spotted at Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve while on a Sunday morning walk.
Alder Beetle – mating pair.
Large Red damselfly.
Common Lizard enjoying some sun.
I believe this is a Little Reed Beetle.
Azure Damselfly {male}.
Bee.
Something a bit larger.
Picked up a Mute Swan egg on the path.
A short film showing the difference between Toad and Frog spawn. {Recorded in the New Forest this week.
Another fungi walk in the New Forest this morning. All pictures today were taken with my phone, which it edited into a short film -so a bit of fun.
Sadly, too many people are foraging for fungi in the New Forest and spotting edible fungi is now difficult in many areas.
The fungi season has started, and now every walk I look down as well as up!
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric, is always a thrill to see, adding colour to the woodland floor.
Continued Reflections from my World. 