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
Rap jumping
It was another day of murky weather and horrible light, so I felt compelled to take a second trip around the hedgerows in search of ivy feeders. R has chosen, as his favourite of my keepers today, this photo of … 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
