I Went Fossil Hunting Down At The Warren (in Folkestone, Kent, UK) On Thursday Last Week. These Are Some

A short clip from the safari at Port Lympne zoo as well as some pretty little common twayblade orchids that were growing there

I made a little dragon head out of polymer clay my brother thinks it look more like a chicken Dino hybrid and now I keep imagining it scratching around in a corn field making nervous chicken noises.

The college I work for has recently got some hives and they kindly paid for me and my colleagues to do an amazing beekeeping course.

This week I did a solo hive inspection for the very first time, as I was the only trained person on site.

It has been a magnificent, if nerve-wracking experience and I can't wait to do it again next week. I am forever petrified of squishing the queen but I will hopefully get more confident with time.

We have one large hive and one smaller one. The large hive is going strong and each week we have to rearrange everything so they don't run out of space. To do this you move empty frames towards the centre of the brood box so the Queen has access to at least 2 empty frames. For some reason she only likes laying eggs on frames near the centre. You also have to check that there's enough space in the supers as this is where worker bee store most of the honey. If the colony doesn't have enough space then the bees start to get agitated and it can prompt a swarm.

The smaller hive unfortunately lost its Queen when it was being delivered to us. So we are currently trying to raise a new one. To do this we moved over a tester frame containing newly laid eggs and some grubs from our other hive. The worker bees then chose the new Queens and built special large cells for them. we knocked down all but one of these to stop a potential swarm. We then left this hive for 3-weeks to give her a chance to emerge and go on her nuptial flight. On this flight she will hopefully have mated with a number of genetically diverse drones. She has around a 30% chance of surviving this and coming back to the hive. We haven't seen her yet but fingers crossed she's there. The workers had started to make play cups indicating that they are dissatisfied with the lack of new eggs being laid. But it does take a while for her to start laying. As we don't know if she survived I put in two new tester frames with eggs and grubs from the other hive. When I do an inspection next week I will need to check for freshly laid eggs and queen cells. If I see new eggs then I know that the Queen survived, but if not and if Queen cells have been produced then we'll have to start the process of raising a Queen again.

The pictures above are from the smaller hive showing some play cups on a couple of the frames. This shows the workers are irritated at the lack of new eggs being laid. One picture also shows the entrance to the hive and one of the worker bees has pollen on their legs. This is apparently an indication that a new queen is present and is about to start laying.

General Bee info:

The Queen has a store of sperm and can control which eggs are fertilised with a little flap. Unfertilized eggs turn into drones (haploid, reproductive males). Fertile eggs turn into either worker bees (usually non reproductive, female bees) or new Queens. She lays individual eggs into each of the cells.

In a healthy hive, drones are only present in the summertime when the hive has reached sexual maturity. In an unhealthy hive the Queen can start laying drone eggs when she runs out of stored sperm. Queenless workers may also start to lay drone eggs.

When the eggs hatch, worker bees feed and nurture the grubbs with honey and variety of different pollen. It is the worker bees that choose what fertile eggs become Queens. The ones they select as potential new Queens are fed a diet of mostly royal jelly and they build larger cells for them. Workers can also choose when new queen's emerge by standing on top of the flap door to their cell. This prevents them from emerging until the workers deem the time is right.

As time progresses grubs get larger and eventually pupate within their cells. The cells are then capped with wax and the pupae starts to metamorphose internally. When the pupa are fully developed they moult and then chew their way through the wax cap. Young bees can be quite light-colored when they first emerge.

Unfortunately I don't have very many pictures of our lovely hives. It is quite hard to take photos with massive gloves on, and the longer you spend faffing around, the more stressed out the bees get. I only got these pictures because I needed to update my colleagues on certain developments. If the opportunity arises again then I will share any photos here as I think bees are really interesting.

Backgrounds and geographical structures are things I, currently can't, but would really like to be able to draw/depict. and these are rendered so beautifully that I am saving it for inspirational purposes

Art by Gui Yuan

Moth Dress by Cat Johnson Photo credit: Christina Solomons 

I wanted to enter an embroidery competition that was run by Domestika. And this is what I ended up coming up with. It is a lichen themed French barrett hair clip.

Prior to planning and making my embroidery I went on some walks and took some photos for inspiration.

I really love lichen it's such a strange thing. The physical structure of lichen is a fungi that clings to tree branches, rocks, and other solid surfaces. The fungi provides a home for a colony of tiny algae or cyanobacteria. The algae or cyanobacteria photosynthesize producing sugars and other molecules that they share with the fungi. These are what give the lichen its colours. So lichen isn't really one thing. It is a living collaboration of two completely unrelated organisms. It can survive desiccation and bounces right back with a little rain.

It looks a bit like coral and can be used to indicate air quality. Overall a fascinating and splendid amalgam.

A few more doodles for smaugust 2024. Not following any prompts, just trying to get back into doodling more frequently again.

My last two atlas moths have emerged from their cocoons. They are beautiful and absolutely fascinating.

Can you see the snake head markings on the tip of each forewing? They are there to deter potential predators, which I think is pretty neat.

They are absolutely gorgeous, and I am so glad that they have all hatched safely. Unfortunately, I think these two are both female so it looks like I won't be getting any fertile eggs.

One damaged it's hind wing a little when it flew into one of my orchids. It is the only one that has shown any interest in flying and has been having short (approximately 2 min) flights around my room every evening. Finding a new place to lay eggs each time.

If you can access this on Netflix please, please watch Scavengers Reign. I can't describe how amazing it is. Stunning visuals, immaculate and fun world building with a spectacular array of alien fauna and flora, beautiful character driven storytelling.

I am going to start rewatching it as I can't get it out of my head. I really need a second series. Please watch this.

It can be a bit gory in places (but most of it isn't) and does deal with some heavy topics but these were handled in such a careful way so please don't let it put you off if you think you can handle it.

Scavengers Reign 1.02 "The Storm"

Some work acquaintances asked me to make them a butterfly hair clip after they helped me with an open day.

The first requested one based on a large emerald moth and the second asked for a peacock butterfly.

I am quite pleased with them so I thought I would share how they are made on the off chance that someone else wants to give it a go.

What you need:

- Denim or other suitably thick fabric from unwearable old clothes

- PVA glue

- acrylic paint

- embroidery hoop (optional but helps keep fabric flat)

- paper + tracing paper + pencil + scissors

- hot glue

- French barrette hair clip (alternatively you could stick it to a fridge magnet or something else)

How to make:

1. Prep the fabric by cutting a section, securing it in the hoop, then painting it first with PVA then with two layers of white acrylic paint (letting it dry between each application)

2. Find reference photos of desired species, preferably with wide open wings and taken from above.

3. Sketch half of the moth or butterfly onto a piece of paper.

4. Trace each wing separately on to the tracing paper and transfer to the fabric. Then flip and do this again so the wings are mirrored. Also do this for the body

5. Paint with acrylic paint.

6. Cut out and assemble with hot glue.

7. Stick it on to the hair clip (or other item) with hot glue

If you do make one, I would love to see them.