Sun 2014-02-23 
A male Edasyphora cyanella (Diptera: Muscidae) sunning itself on a tree trunk. This species tends to be one of the first flies to appear in the spring.
Photo taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2014-02-22.
Sat 2014-02-22 
From last September: red bean galls on the leaves of a willow bush (Salix sp) . These are caused by larvae of the sawfly Pontania proxima (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). The underside of the leaves look like this:
Photos taken beside the top lake, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2013-09-21.
Fri 2014-02-21 
From last April: butterbur, Petasites hybridus.
Photo taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 203-04-14.
Thu 2014-02-20 
An unidentified yellowish crust fungus on a branch fallen from a beech tree (Fagus sp).
I took this specimen home with me:
This yielded the following spores (magnification x600, field width 86um):
These are about 13 x 6um.
First photo and specimen taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2014-02-15.
Wed 2014-02-19 
A white crust fungus with pores, probably a Schizopora sp, possibly Schizopora flavipora or Schizopora paradoxa.
I took this specimen:
And it yielded the following spores (magnification x600, field width about 86um):
These are about 4 x 3um which is at the lower end of the ranges most frequently given for S. flavipora and S. paradoxa.
First photo and specimen taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2014-02-11.
