Repeal Bill Tory Threat. If You Can't Find an Answer, Ask A Friend

Woodwasp male - Sirex noctilio

President Trump has returned to Texas, this time to Houston, handing out food parcels and generally talking to people affected by the flooding. It was generally agreed that he was acting  presidential. Congress was going to be asked for $8bn to start helping the flooded States recover.

Meanwhile, Robert Mueller's investigation is still continuing and the American Association for the Advancement of Science remains ‘highly concerned about the disregard for scientific advisory groups in the US federal government’. The Justice department has found no evidence for Trumps claim that Obama bugged Trump Tower.

The Conservatives are in a bit of internal trouble again, with some MP's outraged.  The party whips will be insisting that when the Repeal Bill (formerly known as The Great Repeal Bill) comes before parliament again later this week, any attempts by conservative MPs to soften it will be seen “supporting Jeremy Corbyn”. On top of that is an article in the Sunday Times headlined "May secretly agrees £50bn Brexit Bill", though I believe that the actual content is more speculative and based on Theresa Mays' weakened position since the election.

The fascinating find of the day was by the neighbours young boy, who found a large winged insect, vainly trying to fly. It was unfamiliar, and at 40 mm, rather large. With four wings and an unusual long orange and black tipped abdomen, it crawled around in the improvised viewer I'd made with two yogurt pots and some clingfilm. The closest I got to identifying it was as a large stonefly. but they hatch in the spring, early summer. I therefore did what anyone would do, I asked a friend, or in this case, lots of friends on the QuekettMicro facebook page. One came up trumps, identifying the insect as a male Woodwasp, Sirex noctilio.

The Woodwasp is a native insect across much of northern Europe. Fertilised females seek out damaged or weak trees. The female drills several holes through the bark down to the xylem to place one egg in each. At the same time, she inserts spores of a fungus, Amylostereum areolatum and a phytotoxic secretion.  The eggs hatch and the larvae drill further into the wood. The introduced fungal spores grow and infect the wood and the fungus is the sole food for the larvae. Generally the larvae grow and go though several stages of a perios spanning anything from 10days to 2 years, in some instances even 6 years, before pupating and emerging as adult beetles. Males arise from unfertilised eggs and females from fertislised ones. The Woodwasp has been very invasive and become a pest in Australia, Asia and parts of Africa. I released the male whilst I still thought it was a stonefly. However, it seemed to have lost its ability to fly and could well have been at the end of the 10 to 12 day adult male life span.