Spring has another try

After my last optimistic posts we had a few days of snow and sleet that stopped everything in its tracks.

A few days of rain, then some sun, and things have started again.

The Willow catkins are now open:

That means it's the only time of the year to look out for the solitary bee Andrena clarkella. It looks like a small tawny bumblebee and feeds its young exclusively on Willow pollen.

Here is a shot of it that I took a couple of years ago.

A specimen of the Early Thorn moth - Selenia dentaria - came to light during the rain last night:

This is one of the few moths that close their wings together like a butterfly.

Another new one for my species list.