Monk Wood

Ashy Mining Bee - Andrena cineraria

Another of the small Mining Bees. They are presumably called "Ashy" because of their grey/white hairs against their black bodies but this one is so covered in pollen that you have to look closely to see the white hairs.

Hoverfly - Epistrophe eligans

One of the early hoverflies. Quite a small one but I was able to get up close and as he was sitting on a leaf at about chest height I was able to get a shot in profile. Is it just me or does the head look almost like a human face in profile (nose/mouth etc).

Green Veined White - Pieris napi

Still seeing loads of Orange Tips but none are stopping to have their photo taken. Fortunately this Green Veined White was more obliging

Groundhoppers

These are part of the  Grasshopper family but I've not come across them before. There are 3 species in the UK but one of  them is limited in its distribution and mainly in the South. I managed to find both of the others at Monk Wood. Though I wasn't entirely sure what they were until I got home and did a bit of research.

Slender Groundhopper - Tetrix subulata

Found on a fairly bare piece of ground which had been recently coppiced and cleared at the side of a woodland ride. My first thought was that it was a young Grasshopper (Nymph) but I did think it was a little early in the year. It was also the sort of place where I wouldn't be surprised to see grasshoppers in the summer, particularly when a little vegetation had grown back. I had also seen one at Tiddesley Wood the day before and filed the picture away to try to identify which Gasshopper it was when I had more time.

Common Groundhopper - Tetix undulata

This one was found in a shady damp part of woodland on a rotten log. Not where I would expect to see a grasshopper or nymph which made me question whether it was a grasshopper. I knew of groundhoppers but nothing about them but when I started researching it became obvious that this was a groundhopper as was the one above!

Small Hoverfly on a blade of Grass

Flea Beetle - Psylliodes chrysocephala ?

Tiny leaf beetle which would be fairly unremarkable except when you notice the enlarged thigh on the rear leg which identifies it as a Flea Beetle a jumping beetle. I could never have seen that detail out in the field