{"id":1702,"date":"2010-08-25T08:08:19","date_gmt":"2010-08-25T07:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.permuted.org.uk\/photography\/archives\/1702"},"modified":"2013-11-10T15:13:31","modified_gmt":"2013-11-10T15:13:31","slug":"farming-aphids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.permuted.org.uk\/photography\/farming-aphids\/","title":{"rendered":"Farming Aphids"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

We had a brief respite from the rain yesterday. I spent some time in Sheepcote Valley, looking for kestrels (I saw a couple in the distance) but eventually settled down to see what insect life I could find. The spot I chose is deep in the valley, and relatively sheltered.
<\/span> <\/p>\n

A small crop of mushrooms caught my attention. Mushrooms, like moths, are beyond my powers of identification unless they are hugely distinctive (which these weren't).
<\/span> <\/p>\n

It was while I was on the ground photographing these that I noticed the ladybirds. I'm so used to seeing them in gardens that it feels like a surprise to see them in more natural surroundings.
<\/span> 7-spot ladybird<\/span><\/p>\n

On closer inspection it appeared that the ladybirds were farming their food supply. Ladybirds are particular partial to aphids and indeed are commonly used as a biological control in organic gardens.
<\/span> Blackfly aphids<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

We seem to have about 48 hours of near-constant rain forecast, so opportunities for more photography may be limited over the next couple of days (but you never know… the rain may miss us (unlikely) or I can always look for a soggy fox). So much for summer…
\"Nature<\/a><\/span>
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 40D. The landscape was shot with the EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens. The rest were taken with the EF 100mm f\/2.8L macro IS USM lens.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[991,71,1003],"tags":[653,1147,350],"class_list":["post-1702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insects-2","category-ladybird","category-landscape-2","tag-aphid","tag-ladybird","tag-mushroom","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t