The birds and the bees...

And the ladybirds are at it too! It must be spring in the air.

The pair on the left are harlequin ladybirds, the recent invader from the continent.

Two years ago they were so numerous that it looked like our native 7 and 2 spot ladybirds might be under threat  of extinction but the two recent hard winters seem to have redressed the balance a bit. I've seen more 7-spots than harlequins this year.

On the right is an example of the melanistic form of harlequin, black with red patches.

But the 7-spots (below) are easy to find on the nettles near the stream on my walk.