Time to breathe

After three days in the field, it was a pleasure not to have to go and record any plants. Even the keenest of botanists can begin to feel a bit jaded by this time of year! Especially with the ongoing drought.

In the morning I went into town with Alex and Ben as they needed a few things before setting off for a long weekend in Cologne with their friend. Ben used his birthday money to buy a new phone and Alex finally bought some new shoes - his previous pair had holes in the sole and heel! We carried out all the necessary purchases very efficiently and even had time for coffee and cake in John Lewis.

I dropped them off at the station just before 2 and then had a quiet afternoon all on my own, some of which was spent photographing a reed beetle Donacia versicolorea, a widespread but uncommon species that lives on the leaves of Broad-leaved Pondweed (see extra). 

While I was out in the garden I noticed this Marmalade Hoverfly, visiting the Field Scabious. This is one of an influx that has come to Britain from the Continent in the warm easterly airflow we've been having.