Apis Mellifera, Western Honey Bee,
Like all Honey Bees the Western Honey Bee is eusocial, creating colonies. One single fertile female known as the “Queen” the other non-reproductive females in the colony are known as “workers”. “Drones” are fertile males that only represent a small number of bees in a colony.
Apis is Latin for “Bee” and mellifera is the Latin for "honey-bearing.
Apis Mellifera is the most common species of Honey Bee.
Colony behaviour is organised by complex communication between fellow individuals by the way of dance language and pheromones.
This species was one of the first domesticated insects and is the primary species preserved by beekeepers to present day and also a very important pollinator for agriculture world-wide. All Honey Bees are threatened by pests and diseases, especially the varroa mite and colony collapse disorder; not mention countless other insects that prey on the “Honey Bee.” It is believed to have originated in Africa, with human assistance; the western honey bee now occupies every continent except Antarctica.
Honey bees have perennial colonies unlike most other bee species, these colonies survive year after year because of this high degree of sociality and permanence, honey bee colonies similar to “ant colonies” can be considered superorganisms. meaning that reproduction of the colony, rather than individual bees; is the biologically significant unit. Honey bee colonies reproduce through a process called "swarming."
In most climates swarming usually takes place in the spring to early summer, when there is a plentiful supply of nectar and pollen. This is when the hive creates one to two dozen new queens. Just as the pupal stages of these "daughter queens" are nearly complete, the present queen and approximately two-thirds of the adult workers leave the colony in a swarm, traveling some distance to find a new location suitable for building a hive (e.g., a hollow tree trunk). In the old colony, the daughter queens often start "piping", just prior to emerging as adults. When the new young queens eventually emerge, they fight each other until only one remains; the survivor then becomes the new queen. If one of the sister queens emerges before the others, she has the chance to kill her siblings while they are still pupae.
Once the new queen has no rivals she becomes the only fertile female and begins to lay all the eggs for the already established colony; which her mother has left. Virgin females are able to lay eggs, which develop into males (a trait shared with wasps, bees, and ants because of haplodiploidy.). However, she requires a mate to produce female offspring, which comprise 90% or more of bees in the colony at any given time. Thus, the new queen goes on one or more nuptial flights, each time mating with 1–17 drones. Once she has finished mating, usually within two weeks of emerging, she remains in the hive, laying eggs.
Throughout the rest of the growing season, the colony produces many workers, who gather pollen and nectar as cold-season food; the average population of a healthy hive in midsummer may be as high as 40,000 to 80,000 bees. Nectar from flowers is processed by the “workers” who evaporate it until the moisture content is low enough to discourage mould, transforming it into honey which can then be capped over with wax and stored almost indefinitely. In the temperate climates to which western honey bees are adapted, the bees gather in their hive and wait out the cold season, during which the queen may stop laying. During this time, activity is slow, and the colony consumes its stores of honey used for metabolic heat production in the cold season. In mid- through late winter, the queen starts laying again. This is probably triggered by day- light hours increasing. Depending on the subspecies, new queens (and swarms) may be produced every year, or less frequently, depending on local environmental conditions.
Like other insects that undergo complete metamorphosis western honey bee has four distinct life stages: egg, larva, pupa and eventually adult stage. The complex social structure of honey bee hives means that all of these life stages occur simultaneously throughout much of the year. The queen deposits a single egg into each cell of a honeycomb prepared by worker bees. The egg hatches into a legless, eyeless larva fed by "nurse" bees (nurse bees are worker bees who maintain the interior of the colony). After about a week, the larva is sealed in its cell by the nurse bees and begins its pupal stage. After another week, it emerges as an adult bee. It is common for defined regions of the comb to be filled with young bees (also called "brood"), while others are filled with pollen and honey stores.
Worker bees secrete the wax used to build the hive, clean, maintain and guard it, raise the young and forage for nectar and pollen; the nature of the worker's role varies with age. For the first ten days of their lives, worker bees clean the hive and feed the larvae. After this, they begin building comb cells. On days 16 through 20, workers receive nectar and pollen from older workers and store it. After the 20th day, a worker leaves the hive and spends the remainder of its life as a forager. Although worker bees are usually infertile females, when some subspecies are stressed they then have a chance of laying fertile eggs. Since workers are not fully sexually developed, they do not mate with drones and thus can only produce haploid (male) offspring.
Queens and workers have a modified ovipositor, which converts into stinger with which they defend the hive. Unlike bees of any other genus and the queens of their own species, the stinger of worker bee is barbed. Contrary to popular belief, a bee does not always die soon after stinging; this misconception is based on the fact that a bee will usually die after stinging a human or other “thick” skinned mammal. The stinger and its venom sac, with musculature and a ganglion allowing them to continue delivering venom after they are detached, are designed to pull free from the body when they lodge. This apparatus (including barbs on the stinger) is thought to have evolved in response to predation by vertebrates, since the barbs do not function (and the stinger apparatus does not detach) unless the stinger is embedded in elastic material. The barbs do not always "catch", so a bee may occasionally pull its stinger free and fly off unharmed (or sting again).
Normal lifespan for the queen “Honey Bees” is three to five years, beekeepers often replace queens every year or two because their fertility rate decreases with age.
The lifespan of workers varies considerably over the year in regions with long winters. Workers born in spring and summer will work hard, living only a few weeks, but those born in autumn will remain inside for several months as the colony clusters. On average during the year, about one percent of a colony's worker bees die naturally per day. Except for the queen, all of a colony's workers are replaced about every four months.

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Flight Season May to November
The largest British hoverfly and one of the most spectacular, a very good Hornet mimic.
Zonaria has been very successful in expanding its range from the south of England in the early 1930s and then became established throughout London in the 1940s.
Since 1995, it has now become widespread and common in the southern regions of England and is now expanding its range further north into the midlands.
Larvae have been found in social wasp (German and Common wasp predominantly) nests built in tree cavities, Hornet nests are also an attractive place for the female to lay her eggs amongst the debris in the bottom of the nest cavity.
Below you will see images of the male (top of eyes being closer together) and the female Volucella zonaria, on Thistle flowers as well as Buddleia; being a garden favourite of theirs.

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Hepiopelmus variegatorius (Panzer, 1800)
Length: 15mm.
Flight period: late June till mid-October, in Britain.
This is a very attractively marked, Ichneumon wasp, widespread in Britain, but it is not a common Ichneumon wasp, being a parasitoid of, Buff and White Ermine moths. The female will search for the caterpillars of these moths, to take to her prepared nest. By using her ovipositor, she will inject her eggs into the caterpillar’s body, which will then automatically become a host, for her young to feed on. The host will die, then the larvae pupate and will emerge as an adult, to complete the life cycle.
Habitat: Woodland edges, hedge rows, well vegetated meadows and unkept gardens.

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Family: Anatidae.
Length 90 to 100cm Wingspan: 1.5 to 1.8m Weight: 4.3 to 5Kg Lifespan: 20 to 25 years.
The Canada Goose was originally imported from North America as an ornamental bird. It has now established itself in various habitats, through-out the UK. It can also be found in the Scandinavia Countries throughout Northern Europe.
Being very well adapted to the unpredictable temperatures of the UK, so many have now lost their will to migrate
Habitat: Mostly found near water enhanced environments, such as lakes, reservoirs, canals, rivers, flooded pits, even in local parks, as some birds although completely wild will tolerate, close human presence. Can also be found grazing on farmlands where it is not so welcome in large numbers. Being a large and adaptable bird, it is not always welcome in urban parks and grasslands, as it can be aggressive and also, when in large numbers it can create a lot of unwanted mess.
Feeding: Spends a lot of time grazing on grass, will also feed on a variety of cereals and aquatic plants. In the winter time the goose will rely more on domesticated grasslands, berries, seeds and will take advantage of feeding on any crops they come across on farmlands.
Nesting: Nesting usually on the ground surface, so for extra protection from many ground predators, including foxes, stoats, ferrets, squirrels, (just to mention a few); small islands are favoured as a safer haven for a nesting site, more often than not with other Canadian Geese and other similar sized birds. The nest is down-lined on the inside, the outside supported with various plant vegetation found close by, five to six eggs are normally laid. The female covers all the incubation period while the male stands close by, guarding her and the nest. Incubation period lasts between 25 to 28 days, the total nesting period can last up to 50 days. As soon as the goslings hatch they are capable of walking, swimming and finding food, the goslings will remain with their parents for their first year. Canada geese usually mate up from the age of three to four years and will remain loyal with one partner, through-out their entire life.
Just 1 brood a year April to June.

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Size varies: males on average are slightly smaller, females up to 18mm in body length.
Family: Sarcophagidae (the word itself derived from the Greek words meaning “flesh-eating”).
Widespread throughout Europe, although less common in parts of Spain

Flight period: All year round. More frequently seen in April to October.

Habitat: Various habitats are favoured where carrion is present, the adults also feed on fluids from animal bodies, nectar, decaying vegetable matter, sweet foods, fluids from animal waste and various organic materials.

Unusually instead of laying eggs, the female “Flesh Fly” lays small larvae on rotting carcasses or dung. The larvae (maggots) typically feed on decaying meat and also the bacteria and other small organisms living in the carrion that may get in the way, very quickly reaching full size in just a few days; they then burrow into the soil to pupate. Late in the year when the larvae are laid, they will pupate throughout the winter months; then in the spring they will emerge as adult flies.

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