Hoverating
I was raging to go out in search of dragons today, and had several potentially good sites in mind, but the weather forecasts for all of them suggested that if I went I had around a 30% chance of being … Continued
Hoverfly season
I thought I had seriously messed up this morning. I had an early appointment for a haircut, and as the weather was fairly dour at home I decided not to take a camera with me. Imagine my chagrin then, when … Continued
Michaelmas hoverfly
I debated with myself for some time this evening over which of these two photos to feature. The extra, taken with flash in the darkest corner of the wild garden, is much better-focused than the main image, but in the … Continued
Droning on
“Can you say ‘Eristalis tenax’?” I said to Baby B. He thought about this for several seconds, then said, “Uh.” And then a few seconds later, “Ay.” Good grief, I thought. The child is a genius! Is it too early … Continued
Contortionist
One of the earliest invertebrate arrivals in the garden this spring was a male Eristalis pertinax which was fond of basking on the aucuba, so it seems fitting that another male of that species should appear on the same shrub … Continued
Social distancing
R and I took ourselves off to Croome this morning, lugging a large flask of coffee which we drank sitting on a bench overlooking the lake. You can’t completely avoid people there of course – you have to enter through … Continued