Waking up
I was so delighted to spot this female Eristalis tenax on the aucuba this morning that I did a tiny dance. Since it got too cold for me to risk beating the garden bugs out of their shelters last autumn, … Continued
Good grooming
When I wandered into the garden between the rain showers there weren’t many insects around apart from moth flies, and I thought I was going to need to dislodge someone from their roost to get a more interesting subject. But … Continued
Comparison
With rain forecast for the afternoon, I headed out around the village with the macro as soon as I’d dealt with the early Saturday morning chores, hoping to find some nice invertebrates among the flowering ivy. Most of the ivy … Continued
Copperback
It was a mad, all-hands-to-the-pump scramble this morning, to get the holiday house cleared and tidied before our check-out time of 10am. We managed it, more or less, and by 10.30 I was back round at Lower Moor. My excuses … Continued
Macro mayhem
The weather turned stormy this morning, which would have been fine if we’d received a decent amount of rain, but though 10mm had been forecast, I doubt in the event if we received even half of that. Enough to dampen … Continued
Hoverfly-friendly
Artistically, I’m not a fan of feet, though I concede that practically they’re extremely useful, so I’m very much in two minds about posting this. But it was mildly amusing to have this Narcissus Fly (Merodon equestris) turn the tables … Continued
Red-letter hoverfly
If this was a bird I’d be calling it a lifer, I expect, but it’s just a hoverfly so I won’t go all triumphalist about it, even though it’s a species I’ve never seen before. Well… maybe a bit triumphalist. … Continued