Life in the dead sycamores

I sometimes come across some pretty unsavoury characters in the garden.  This was especially true when I was watching the activity in and on the dead sycamores for just a few minutes.  I have drilled lots of holes in the trees and many of the holes are occupied.  From several I got the impression I was being watched.

These are the eyes of tachinid flies (males have the eyes close together, females eyes wide apart).  They are protelean parasitoids, meaning that the larval stage is parasitic and consumes its host whereas the adult stage is not parasitic. Tachinid flies lay their eggs in or on the larvae of other insects so they were loitering with intent around the holes, hoping to find a suitable victim.  There are nearly 10,000 known species in the world and around 275 in the British Isles.  Viewed close up they look scary but also quite marvellous.

Several holes are occupied by ectemnius wasps, solitary wasps that catch flies and use them as a food source for their larvae.

Another insect on the trees was an earwig, an omnivore which is a target of tachinid flies.

I saw one spider but I expect there were lots of others on the prowl.

This bumblebee was just resting but was big enough to stick up for itself.

So it is dog eat dog in the insect world.  Eat and don't get eaten seems to be the motto.