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I went off to Tiddesley Wood near Pershore this morning in search of the Common Clubtail dragonfly, which is listed at that site. It’s a renownedly elusive beast, however, spending much of its relatively short life up in the tree … Continued

This isn’t the best photo I took today – that would be one of these – but I’m posting it to mark my first ever meeting, in all my six decades, with one of these extraordinary beetles. It’s a Common … Continued

Poseuse? I was having a frustrating afternoon with the camera: there just didn’t seem to be many insects around, even though the conditions were ideal. Eventually I found a section of hedgerow that was being worked by several Azure Damselflies, … Continued

Walking back towards the car in Stratford this afternoon, through the park on the south side of the river, I mentioned to R that I wanted to check the reeds around Lucy’s Mill Bridge for dragonflies. Neither of us could … Continued

R and I spent a lovely morning at Croome today. After coffee and scones we walked the lake, and though I didn’t find any dragonflies I was able to get photos of some of the damsels that are now emerging … Continued

By rights, I should have thighs like Cyd Charisse’s by now, having made three trips all the way down the vicious slope of the Masts Reserve at Prestbury Hill today, and then – obviously – back up again. When I … Continued

Scowl lines, mainly: today wasn’t an especially enjoyable day. 1. It was cold, dark, and windy – and I don’t remember ordering any of those things. 2. We finally had to accept that the tumble dryer is dying, and buy … Continued

Hillyblips and I met at the Wyre Forest Nature Reserve this morning, and chugged along the disused railway bed in bright sunshine, in pursuit of Pearl-bordered Fritillaries. This is one of the earliest fritillaries to emerge in the UK, and … Continued

It would have been Demoiselle day if I’d been quicker off the mark, because demoiselles trump damsels on sheer beauty. But though they’re easier to spot, on account of looking a bit like large, exotic butterflies in flight, they’re also … Continued

“Teneral” describes the state of the imago (adult stage) of an insect immediately after moulting, during which it’s soft and its colouring is pale and immature. I’ve chosen to feature this close-up view of what I think is a female … Continued