Ixodes Ricinus & Coccinella 7-Punctata

Todays trip to Powerstock Common a Dorset Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve, saw only a few insects.  In past years this has been a good spot for butterflies and bugs, but today the only really interesting shots I took were of a Ixodes Ricinus & a Coccinella 7-Punctata, or in plain english a Sheep Tick and 7 Spot Ladybird.

Much of the reason I think this year has been to some heavy removal of trees and grazing by cattle.  Hopefully the works will reap benefits in future years, but it’s fairly barren at this time.  The colder day of the weekend not helping out much either.

Anyway here’s my better shots from the trip, all taken with the MPE-65mm on the Canon 50D.