Another book

A second book containing my photographs was launched today:

This book is the result of a project that brought schoolchildren and 'silver citizens' together to gather memories of how plants were used as food and medicine in times almost forgotten. I think it turned out really well.

This is exactly what I expect to see at this time of year:

No fewer than four Orange-Tip eggs on one flowerhead. I already mentioned that these are cannibals and that only one egg is normally laid per plant. But at this time of year, when the last, late, females are laying, all the plants are occupied so we see a 'dumping' of eggs in the hope that some might survive. Timing is everything: if you emerge too late, the flowers will all be occupied and your offspring will have a poor chance of success. Lateness is a trait that won't pass through to successive generations.

The first of the 'Blue' Damselflies emerged today, just as we were getting the first rain in perhaps a week. This female was using the curved leaf of Cocksfoot as an umbrella:

Here's a closeup showing the 'umbrella' in use:

Female blue damselflies are particularly tricky to separate, but I'm tending to favour Variable Damselfly - Coenagrium pulchellum - for this one. New to me, if so.