My office for the morning. About to give a talk to a group in Morley.

Pretty sure this is Parhelophilus versicolor, which would be a new hoverfly for my list.

Loads of these awesome little blue weevils on the same dock leaves as the Green Dock Beetles I was finding this week. Presumably Perapion violaceum.

Sac spider, Clubiona for sure and I suspect C. reclusa although there are others similar so 'microscopic examination of the genitalia is necessary to confirm identification'. BAS

Lots of juvenile harvestmen running around at the moment too, many species become adult towards the end of Summer. Mind you, I think this is another Rilaena triangularis. A late hatcher, perhaps?🤔
Meg Skinner (British Harvestmen) (she/her) BAS

The Spring Harvestmen (Rilaena triangularis) that I've been seeing grow up all winter are starting to look like adults now. Not sure if this one is quite there yet? 🤔
Meg Skinner (British Harvestmen) (she/her) BAS

A False Ladybird larva (Endomychus coccineus). I've only ever seen these (adult and larvae) on one specific tree in my local woods. Went to check the tree yesterday and sure enough... Only spotted one individual though.

Mmajestic synchronised swimming. I'm thinking something like Phantom Midge larvae (Chaoborus crystallinus).

Made it out for the day despite heavy showers and strong winds. Spent quite a bit of time sheltering under trees! When the sun did come out, plenty to see. Most notably Green Dock Beetles (Gastrophysa viridula), lots of mating pairs and eggs on show. More pics to follow.

A Pill Millipede (Glomeris marginata). Loads of these around at the moment. I lifted a piece of wood that had around 20 or so under it, mostly a shiny black but this one a lovely brown. Possibly just moulted.

Everybody needs a woodlouse for pillow...

Another flatworm of some sort. Could it be Obama nungara?

A broad-nosed weevil for #WeevilWednesday . I'm fairly hopeless at weevil identification but I'm seeing a tooth on the hind tibia, which makes me think it could be a Common Leaf Weevil (Phyllobius pyri). Could be wrong!

Spying on a hoverfly through the flowers. I think it's a Platycheirus sp. Loads of them around whatever they are.

A trip up to the hills of Sheffield wouldn't be complete without photographing the Coelotes cf atropos. Find them under stones on the edge of woodland in good numbers. Later in the year I'll see them under the same stones with eggs and eventually offspring.

This pretty much sums up Spring so far. A bit of a damp squib! This Mining Bee was fine though, it dried out and flew away eventually.

I did manage to make it out today, and I found... tadpoles!