Flagrant
One of the things I’ve noticed this season is a fall in the number of Helophilus hoverflies around our wildlife pond. Since we put in this pond during lockdown in the summer of 2020 it has been very popular with … Continued
Good times
The whole family descended on us today – L arrived first, with the Boy Wonder, then an hour and a half later H turned up from the Frozen North, followed almost immediately by G and the Baby Brother. Just before … Continued
Water Shrew
When I arrived home this afternoon and told R that I’d just spent forty five minutes trying to photograph something that wasn’t a dragonfly, he looked understandably bemused and asked me what it was. “I don’t actually know,” I said. … Continued
Successful
I’m beginning to lose count now, but just based on the number of exuviae I’ve collected, this is at least the tenth successful Southern Hawker emergence this season from our little wildlife pond. That said, for a while I thought … Continued
Relationship
As far as I know, invertebrates don’t go in for existential philosophising, but I can’t help but feel that it must be a little strange to be in a relationship, albeit temporary, with your former skeleton. Though to be fair, … Continued
The morning after the night before
I was tired after running up and down the garden in the dark for an hour last night, photographing the emergence and eclosure of this female Southern Hawker, so I didn’t wake especially early. Luckily, when I did manage to haul … Continued