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of woodlice, and a pleasing variety of worms, but the most numerous invertebrates were centipedes. These were the long thin, many- and short-legged Haplophilus (or similar) species. They have lots of short legs for pushing through the soil, a bit like

about — the stuff of legend, warm sunshine on my cheeks.There was still a slight chill in the wind though, and when I examined the pond there was a thin rind, perhaps half a millimetre thick, of ice. By 11, though, not only had this vanished

the half-glazed door it was oblivious to me, even though I was only inches away from it. It was in a terrible state. It's hind-quarters were almost completely naked, the skin red and blotchy and scabbed, it's bare rat tail a thin bony stalk. Full grown

Lithobius (pictured above) and yet far fewer than the 50 or more pairs possessed by the long, thin Geophilomorpha group.They're fascinating animals and as soon as I saw it under the log I scooped it up to show to the kids. With all those legs it

she hadn't dashed off into the depths. Today, though, when I nip out into the cold wilderness of my garden to have a little look around, I find there is a thin layer of ice on the pond.The rational part of me suspects that even though our pond is very

, but this is a subtle observation beyond my luck this day.Watching one climb up the metal fire escape stairs on Sunday, I was, however, able to see the infinitesimally thin silk safety line that it trailed as it stalked across the crumbling paintwork

for this simple fact, and I was very quick to put them straight on it. [Technically, bumblebees do make an extremely small store (a few millilitres) of thin nectar regurgitation, but this is nothing like the huge stocks of thick, sterile, sweet gloop stored