Beetle

From a holiday up north last year: what I think is water beetle Ilybius ater (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae).

Photos taken behind Hangingstone, near Guisborough, North Yorkshire, UK, on 2013-09-12.

Sedge

Common sedge, Carex nigra.

Photos taken in the field below Chazey Wood, near Caversham, UK, on 2014-05-04.

Fungus

Daldania concentrica growing on the trunk of a decaying tree.  A close-up of the bark shows that the tree is a beech (Fagus sp) rather then ash (Fraxinus sp), the more common host  for this fungus:

Photos taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2014-03-29.

Flies

From last year: male Musca autumnalis (Diptera: Muscidae).

Photo taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, 2013-08-04.

Lichens

Two species of lichen growing on a tree trunk: Lecanora chlarotera and Lecidella elaeochroma.  For close-ups of these species see here.

It was several years ago that I noticed that lichen colonies on tree trunk tend to be elongated at right-angles to the length of the trunk.  Why this is so would make a good subject for discussion in a school science lesson.  I will leave it as an exercise for the reader.

Photo taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK on 2013-11-30.