The Macro equpment offers a wide range of possibilities. The following images depict a variety of different forms of wildlife commonly found at the site. As the season changes from winter to spring we can see the fluctuating activity from a range of species.
A Frog can cope in very cold conditions. It eats insects, slugs and occasionally snails. It moves only by hopping and can cover up to a metre in a single jump. The frog hibernates from October to February in either somewhere sheltered on land or at the bottom of a pond. They can be up to 9cm long with the male being slightly smaller than the female.
A Toad moves by walking which destinguishes it from frogs which hops. They are also larger than frogs at up to 13 cm long. It hibernates in dry places such as under logs from October to March. Toads hunt in the evenings preying on insects and other small animals by using its long, sticky tongue.
Frogs and Toads are not altogether too difficult to photograph. The ones in these images did not seem to be afraid and made no attempt to make a hasty departure.
Snails rest during the day to avoid warmth and predators and are active at night, feeding on a variety of plants. In very dry condition, snails are able to seal their shells with mucus to avoid loss of the moisture they need.
The Garden Spider can be found in hedgerows and gardens. They are about 12-15 cm in size. Commonly located in webs, this one was found scuttling across a large rock on site, pausing regularly and long enough for this picture to be taken without too much difficulty.
Earwigs are nocturnal, they often hide in small moist crevices during the day and are active at night, feeding on a wide variety of insects and plants.
Caterpillars can be commonly found on site anywhere that they may be able to feed. Catterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered pests in agriculture. Many moths are better known in their caterpillar stages because of the damage they cause to fruits and other agricultural produce.
There are many species of moth in Britain, some of which can be seen as early as January. The moth above is a Brindled Beauty which flies from early March. This is the most commonly found specie of moth in the south of England and like most moths, it is nocturnal. On a particularly cold night, moths are slow and quite easy to photograph. They can be found on trees and the sides of most structures.
The moth in the image above is likely to be a slightly larger Brindled Beauty.
The moth above is harder to identify. It could be a Common Heath Moth.
As the season changes from winter to spring the Smooth Newt emerges from hibernation to mate. Having been hibernating on land, it now returns to the breeding pool where the eggs are wrapped individually in the leaves of water plants. The Smooth Newt is the most common and widespread in the British mainland. It hunts at night feeding on slugs, worms and insects which it catches using its sticky tongue before swallowing its prey whole. Like the toads and frog earlier on, this Newt was quite docile and did not seem to be affraid of having its picture taken, making no effort to leave the area.
Honey Bee colonies are a vast mix of bees taking on many different roles. There are the bees that make and provide honey and the workers which are responsible for looking after the hive. They carry out various duties including cleaning and guarding it, feeding the larvae and gathering the food necessary for all the bees' constant demands.
Bumble Bees are large at around 25mm and produce annual colonies. The queens emerge from hibernation in early Sring to search for a suitable location to begin their colonies, such as former rodent nests in the soil. Workers emerge about 21 days after the eggs are laid and take over the duties of pollen and nectar collection as well as the defence of the colony. This one on site was easy to photograph as it settled to pollenate.
The Common Wasp can be seen flying in mid to late summer. The female has an unbarbed sting that it can use repeatedly to kill insects for food and also to deter predetors. The wasp in this image was particularly large and seen slightly earlier than usual which makes it possible that it may have been a queen which can often be seen earlier looking for a suitable place to build a colony.
The image above depicts a Cockchafer, commonly known as the 'May Bug'. The adult reaches sizes of 25-30mm. The Cockchafer in the image is a male as it has seven 'leaves' on the antenae, whereas the females have only six. They live for only 5-7 weeks from the end of April and throughout May when they can be found anywhere but most commonly around houses.
This one was not too dificult to photograph as, like moths they are not particularly fast moving in cold night conditions.
