The first looks like a very small terracotta urn attached to the stalk of a thistle. Any ideas what came out of it? It is about 10mm - 3/8" across.
The second is a bug that I have drawn a blank on searching on the net. Again on the same patch of thistles, about 12mm - 1/2 long. It would appear to have quite hairy legs and head.
Second picture escaped.
The first image is a 'nest' of a potter/mason wasp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potter_wasp); the beetle is in the family Cleridae (checkered beetles), it looks like a Trichodes sp. - see
http://naturewonders.piwigo.com/picture?/2322/category/50-cleridae for an example.
This message was edited Jun 28, 2014 5:23 PM
Thanks Flapdoodle.
Haven't seen any Potter/Mason wasps about but not really looked. Will be studying more closely now.
The bug looks like Trichodes alvearius with the thin black stripe down the centre of the wing case.
