Nestled down

Tiny Tuesday: Nestled down

When I looked out of the window this morning there was a definite frost on the roof of the car, the mild but wet weather certainly seems to be over for the time being.  I actually prefer colder, crisper, dry conditions at this time of year, so I am definitely not complaining.

Of course, the cold start meant that insect life wasn't going to be that easy to track down.  But fortunately, after a careful root around in the undergrowth (feeling very David Bellamy if you remember him), I managed to spot this ladybird, nestled down amongst the foliage.  She was very sluggish given the cold and I didn't want to make her use up any unnecessary energy so I tried to disturb her as little as possible in taking this photo.

Although we do have a native 15 spot ladybird (the eyed ladybird) I'm afraid that this one is actually the non-native harlequin variety.  You can tell from the pronotum pattern: white or cream with up to 5 spots or fused lateral spots forming 2 curved lines which are in this case M-shaped.

I hope you've had fun trying to find something small to photograph today.  I will be catching up on your Tiny Tuesday blips during the course of tomorrow and will update this page with the results once I have done so.

TINY TUESDAY RESULTS:

Well I've spent a fair chunk of the day reviewing the 68 Tiny Tuesday entries for this week's challenge.  Many thanks to all those who took part.  I've tried to leave a comment on each of your entries to thank you individually and to let you know that I've definitely seen your image.  There have been some great entries and if you are reading this and you've not looked at them I encourage you to do so by following this link.

I've listed my 5 favourites below (in no particular order) , it wasn't an easy choice by any means.  I will be delivering hearts for these shortly.

Favourites

Linxpix - for his Wasp (Vespula Vulgaris) a beautifully crisp and detailed shot.

SandraSuisse - for Curl demonstrating the lovely velvety textures and colour of a geranium.

MyThird - for Meadow Pippit - a very nicely presented shot of one of the UK's little brown birds. While we are not lucky enough to enjoy as many of wonderful multicoloured birdlife that some of you have, we still have some lovely birds in their brown dowdiness!

Lisabet - for her lovely bright hoverfly shot.  

Stella2 - for her delicate little white fungi
 
Honourable Mentions

I've also listed 5 honourable mentions below that are definitely worth your looking at.  I could easily have picked more - but I think limiting it to 5 is the way to go, or I will be here all week!

SquirrelsEtc (KangaZu in disguise) for the cheeky chipmunk

JanetMayes for the tiny spider in a dandelion seed head

Fitzbilly for the waterdroplet artfully arranged on a feather

AnnieBelle for her smashing closeup shot of the tiny jumping spider

Ingeborg for her racing wild oats