Tuesday 17th June - Stretford

'Trimming' conifers is never very satisfying - it usually involves cutting off all the green material, leaving a mass of brown dying needles and exposed stumps. At least in this example, a healthy growth of fresh green ivy could be spread over much of the unattractive remains. However there is always something interesting to be found in such operations. A large, apparently golden (seen from below in bright sunlight) dragonfly perched on the top of one of the cut branches. It was tolerant of fetching a camera and climbing halfway up the ladder with it before deciding this was close enough, but not close enough for a photo nor for identification.

Green Lacewing ? eggs (Chrysopidae)

Something rather less mobile was found on a very small dead twig, as in this photo. It is a collection of eggs on stalks (thanks to Liz Blackman for recognising them probably as insect eggs). The eggs are 1-2mm and the stalks about 5-10mm. Some searching suggested they may be Green Lacewing (family Chrysopidae) eggs. Certainly Green (and other) Lacewings do lay their eggs in this way, but this is not a definitive identification, and suggestions are welcomed. If they are lacewing eggs and if they hatch, they will become voracious predators particularly of soft-bodied forms of insects such as aphids, other larvae and eggs, before turnng into the delicate and beautiful net-winged adults.

John Fulton