Unexpected
This was a surprise. With L and H both due home for a quick visit I knew I wouldn’t have much time for photography today, so I went out early to my neighbours’ orchard pond, and found both yesterday’s fresh … Continued
Pale frail male
There was very little going on in our garden this morning, invert-wise, so I took a walk along the lane. After being farmed as a hay meadow for a number of years, and supporting the best population of butterflies in … Continued
Beauty and the beast
Today brought me two firsts. The main image shows the first Great Pied Hoverfly (Volucella pellucens) I’ve seen this year – a fresh and pristine male, so gorgeous that I let out an audible “Oooh!” of appreciation when I first … Continued
Guard duty
Male Four-spotted Chasers don’t hover much – they tend to spend their time alternately chasing about after females and rivals, and perching on favoured stems or leaves from which they can keep watch for females or rivals entering their territory. … Continued
Transformation
When I walked around the garden this morning, looking for insects, I was surprised to find that the weather had suddenly turned autumnal – dark, windy, and none too warm. I found a few invertebrates, but none that really interested … Continued
Marbled White
One of the big advantages of having a garden that looks more like an overgrown field than a tended area is that meadow butterflies are wont to wander into it. For the past ten days we’ve had Meadow Browns and … Continued
