Hoverfly

A small black hoverfly with large bright orange antennae: probably a female Cheilosia pagana (Diptera: Syrphidae).  According to  Stubbs and Falk (British Hoverflies, 2nd edition, 2002), the female of this species is "conspicuous in the field because it has a huge orange third antennal segment, clearly wider than the front femur, but the males are less obvious with their small antennae". 

The flowers are those of hedge mustard (Sisymbrium officinale), a strange looking plant in which the flower heads are at the tips of long, straggly, often up-curved branches which have narrow pods aligned along their length, giving the impression of a green multi-strand cable.

Photo taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-09-04.

Opomyzid Fly

A small brown fly, possibly Opomyza germinationis (Diptera: Opomyzidae).

Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-09-04.

Dark-Winged Hoverfly

A male hoverfly with unusually dark wings, probably a Chrysogaster solstitialis (Diptera: Syrphidae).

Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-07-18.

Soldier Beetles

A pair of mating Rhagonycha fulva soldier beetles (Coleoptera: Cantharidae).

Photo taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-07-13.

From My Mother's Sketch Book

A sketch by my mother, Clare Brelstaff, dated 1959-06-11.  The baby is me.  I was then about 10 months old.  We were living in Barrow-in-Furness at the time and my father thinks that the drawing was probably made in the grounds of Furness Abbey.