#littlecritterdiary DAY 27

Oniscus asellus - Mauerassel - the most abundant isopod in our garden. Either sits still pressed flat against the ground or flees at the fastest pace I have seen in isopods.

#littlecritterdiary DAY 26

Tibellus oblongus - Halmstrecker - from a damp forest edge. Usually well camouflaged at the stems of dry plants, this one seems to just suck up some warmth from the little bit of sun we had over the last few days.

#littlecritterdiary DAY 25

Sialis cf. lutaria - Schlammfliege, Alderfly - one of hundreds from next to a dirty ditch. Older larvae sit in the mud (hence the german name) and wait for other little invertebrates to prey on.

#littlecritterdiary DAY 24

Lygistopterus sanguineus larvae, from birch dead wood. These little aliens develop several years in rotting wood of decidious trees, probably hunting other beetle larvae.

#littlecritterdiary DAY 23

Melolontha melolontha - Feldmaikäfer - from my parent's garden. The first one I saw this year. Larvae feed on roots of herbs and grasses for 3-4 years before the beetle hatches and flies around for a few weeks.

#littlecritterdiary DAY 22

Limax maximus - Tigerschnegel - from the garden. Although I'll probably have to share some of my garden veggies with this one, I love it. Isn't it pretty?

#littlecritterdiary DAY 21

Ixodes ricinus, everybody's anti-darling, from the garden. A hungry female, probably detecting my breath and sweat while I'm weeding.

#littlecritterdiary DAY 20

Glomeris marginata, from the beech forest. I learned today that the bands become more clear and yellowish with age. 8-11 years lifespan. So this one must have been around for some time.

#littlecritterdiary DAY 19

Asiraca clavicornis, a peculiar planthopper from my garden. Rather rare but widespread in warm and dry places all year round.

#littlecritterdiary DAY 18

Andrena fulva (Rotpelzige Sandbiene) hanging around near the current bushes (Ribes) in the garden.

#littlecritterdiary pages are filling up. And spring has just begun 😊

Wanna join with an analogous or digital collection of your daily critter encounters?

#littlecritterdiary DAY 17

Pseudoscorpion from the 'pseudoscorpion rock' in my garden. When I turn this rock, there is a 90% chance of finding one underneath. They feed on cute little Collembola which they grab and paralyze with their pincers.

#littlecritterdiary DAY 16

Rhaphigaster nebulosa from outside a window. They are known to overwinter in/near houses and come out as soon as it's a little warm in spring. I've seen a bunch of them over the weekend

#littlecritterdiary DAY 15

Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata (= 22-Punkt) from leaf litter in the garden. Unlike most ladybugs this one doesn't feed on aphids but on mildew (Mehltau)

#littlecritterdiary DAY 14

Synageles venator from inside a dry plant near my favorite ditch. It's the most common ant-mimicking species of jumping spider around here. It was tiny (book says 3-4 mm).

#littlecritterdiary DAY 13

Brachinus explodens - Kleiner Bombadierkäfer - from under some dead wood at the forest edge. I learned today that their larvae actively search for and feed on pupas of other beetles (preferably Amara)

#littlecritterdiary DAY 12

Chrysolina coerulans from a ditch in my neighborhood. Lot's of these little jewels were mating in the sun. Larvae develop in mint of which there is plenty growing there in summer.

#littlecritterdiary DAY 11

Tachypodoiulus niger from leave litter in the beech forest on a cold and rainy day. Not much around. But you can always count on decomposers 😊

A bit more contrast in the next species for the spider chart:

Parasteatoda lunata, the dark morph.

This one was a special request from my spider buddy, who has an adorable affection for this species.

#littlecritterdiary DAY 10

Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale (Wipfel-Stachelwanze) from a field of wild garlic in the forest. This should be a pregnant female that just woke up from hibernation, about to lay eggs on some shrub like Crataegus.