Green Woodpecker

A juvenile green woodpecker (Picus viridis).  These birds don't so much 'peck wood' as poke around on the ground for ants.

Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2010-08-15

Sloe Bug

A sloe bug, Dolycoris baccarum (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), a sort of pink version of the more common forest bug, Pentatoma rufipes.

Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2010-08-15.

Fungus Gnat

At first I assumed this was a sawfly, but I couldn't narrow down the identification any further.  A week or two later, while looking for something else, I came across this photo by James Lindsey and realized that it wasn't a sawfly but a member of the obscure family Sciaridae or fungus gnats.  It is a Sciara sp, possibly either S. hemerobioides (= S. thomae = Lycoria thomae) or S. analis, (Diptera: Sciaridae).

Photos taken above Hutton Village, near Guisborough, North Yorkshire, UK, on 2010-08-10.

Conopid Fly

A conopid fly, probably Conops quadrifasciatus (Diptera: Conopidae).  C. flavipes is similar but has yellow on its scutellum.  Like Sicus ferrugineus these flies lay their eggs actually on bumble bees and when the larvae hatch out they proceed to eat the bumble bee alive.

Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2010-08-15.

A Market for Glib Facts

There is a market within the management training field for glib facts which can be trotted out to impress people that what you're teaching is based on science.

Dr Peter Bull, Reader in Psychology at the University of York, interviewed on the BBC Radio 4 Word of Mouth program on 2010-08-17.  He was discussing the mis-reporting of some research on the relative importances of verbal and non-verbal communication.