Lockdown Diary: Wednesday 8.7.20

Here are a couple of photographs for you. The first is a Green Woodpecker that appeared above my head when I was looking at the young kites at Ferry Meadows CP.

Green Woodpecker, Ferry Meadows CP, early July 2020
The second is a type of insect called a soldier-fly. It is known as Stratiomys potamida, or Banded General if you prefer English vernacular names. It is a species which is common in our garden pond, mainly as larvae under the surface. They are long, grey-looking wormy things which are apparently carnivorous, though it is hard to imagine them ever catching anything. This individual was a bit placid, presumably because of the cold weather brought on by the recent rain (or is it the other way round)…

Banded General, our Peterborough garden, 8.7.20