Magpie Moth

A MAGPIE MOTH flutters its wings as it hangs from a stem of garden sage. It may have been hanging from a silken thread. The moth's pied pattern advertises the fact that it is poisonous. When it gets caught in a web the spider rejects it after one bite. The moth seems to have some immunity to spider venom. The larva feeds on gooseberry and currant leaves.

Three pairs of Blue-tailed Damselfly are laying eggs on water plants in the pond, while another four males are helicoptering about. The males remain attached as the female dips her abdomen under water and attaches each egg individually to a stem.

Our first Meadow Brown visits the Dog Daisies.

After all our efforts we get to taste our first French Beans. They are tender without the slightest stringiness and, with plenty of garlic and butter, they really do taste French.

On one of the mown fields two Rabbits scamper about, near a single Grey Partridge. One of the rabbits has a blackish cast to its fur.

The first Rosebay Willowherb is in flower. Other willowherbs, the sort that grow as garden weeds, have been in flower for a few weeks.

Richard Bell,
wildlife illustrator
E-mail; 'richard@daelnet.co.uk'