The cow Parsley has come back into flower which means one thing. Nearly every nectar feeding insect suddenly looses all of their timidness and reserve and goes on a nectar binge. They feed and feed, quickly getting plastered with pollen, doing the plants dirty business.
This Dancing Fly (Empididae empis) didn't even notice me getting in close with the camera. These insects are adapted to feeding out of the long stems of thistle flowers, but used in combination with its large powerful legs enables it to be used on almost any small flower.
This Wasp Beetle (Clytus arietus) lacks the delicate extended mouth parts that the dancing fly has and so plunges its entire head deep into the flower. Having its head covered means that it won't spot predator attacks coming. It has instead developed a resemblance to stinging species and hopes that most creatures would leave it alone.
This Green Legged Sawfly (Tenthredo mesomelas) has ended up completely plastered in pollen whilst trying to feed. This species is a peculiar adaptation as well. It is one of the only almost entirely vegetarian sawflies.
Finally this chap looked just like a rose sawfly (liked those I reared last year) but its clear upper wings were different from Arge pagana and it lacked the black edge of wing marks of Arge ochropus. I had to go back and check on the internet what this was. It is in fact a Bramble Sawfly (Arge cyanocrocea). I would love to find one of these in the larval phase.
So if you spot some cow parsley on a roadside maybe you should go and have a look at what is feeding out of it and ponder the marvel that is evolution.
When you get out of the wood you end up back in farmland overlooking the pretty village of South Croxton. Here the wildlife is a little bit easier to see. 
Check out this Cereal Leaf Beetle (Oulema melanopa). I found a couple of these loitering on the grass stems near the edge of the field above. These little bugs eat grass leaves and so are disliked by farmers who grow grass related plants. Still I think he looks quite pretty. 
One thing that I like to do when walking around in the fields of Leicestershire is to sneak across field boundaries. That is, to silently slip over the fence and peak into the next field to see whats there before it has chance to run or fly away. Its surprising what wildlife you can catch off guard. Part of the path went through this conifer plantation. The rows of trees essentially cut off all view except for the line of trees at either side of you. As you move through the plantation a new row will open up and you can look down it. Again and again you go past row after row. Each new row was a new opportunity to sneak and peak to see what was hidden. 
Check this out. A Brown Hare (Lepus capensis). In fact there was probably 20 or so of them and I got some fantatic close encounters. Further along I stopped to look at the White Bryony(Bryonia dioica) growing in the hedgerow. At this time of year you can see the berries of this plant hanging in the bushes like red grapes, almost. 
This plant is one of those that I remember seeing back at infants school. As I remember there were only ever two plants that came onto my radar. Sticky plant and curly wurly plant. Well this is curly wurly plant. Let me explain, to help it climb it sends out little feelers that entwine other established plants and enable it to get a leg up. Check out these curly wurlies.
The last interesting thing that I saw was this bazaar looking Dancing Fly (Empididae empis).