Moth Flies

From back in late October, a pair of moth flies: possibly a Pericoma sp (Diptera: Psychodidae).

Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2012-10-24.

Dung Fly

From back in April last year, a dung fly: a Scathophaga sp, probably Scathophaga furcata (Diptera: Scathophagidae).  Identification by Niels-Jan Dek here at Diptera.info.

Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2012-04-21.

Flooding in the Wilderness

 

With all the rain we've had this year, I wasn't at all surprised that parts of the Wilderness have now flooded.  It will be interesting to see what effect this has on the flora and fauna later this year.  The past two winters have been fairly dry and I don't remember any significant flooding then, though I do remember extensive winter floods here further in the past, say between 5 and 20 years ago.

Photo taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2013-01-02.

Wild Strawberry

From last spring: the flower and leaves of the wild strawberry plant, Fragaria vesca.

Photo taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2012-04-21.

Oregano

Flowers of oregano, Origanum vulgare.  The full plant looks like this:

The leaves have hairs along their edges:

Photos taken in the field to the west of Chazey Wood, near Caversham, UK, on 2012-08-26.