Well boredom is a killer

Another couple of busy days with lots going on. Not much time to get outside and things were getting a bit predictable. Being mindful of what the Young Fathers said (hint: post title) I made sure I had half an hour in the garden at lunchtime to try and mix things up.

Rather than gaze at the heap I decided to beat the few remaining and pretty much gone over hawthorn blossom. There were all the usual suspects but two species caught my eye and for different reasons.

The first was a beetle which I knew was new to me. It was distinctively patterned and I immediately recognised it but couldn't for the life of me remember the name, just that it was a Ptinidae. A quick look at the web confirmed it as Hedobia imperalis. It is found on decaying wood, where its larvae feed and the adults are often found near old Hawthorn hedges. It is relatively common across southern England.

The second species was a large sawfly which I thought was probably worth trying to identify. I've only IDd a couple of species before and this looked like it might be an easy one. I worked out from images that it was in the genus Tenthredo and with help from AndyM and SimonK on Twitter, I now know it's Tenthredo temula. 

The key features are black antennae and black scutellum, with the clypeus pale and uncoloured.

The tergites (topside bits of the abdomen) should be black on 3 and yellow on 4 and the sides of 5. I've marked the image up below and numbered the tergites. All seems to be present and correct.

It's a common species but not one I've encountered. Anyway feel a bit less bored and a bit happier after a new beetle and a foray into a new group.

This song would perk anyone up. Great video.