I had a run up to the wetlands this morning. It is an insect paradise, lots of spiders and Craneflies. I'll go again with a strobe ring and waterproofs to investigate further. I got what I went for but never found anything rare.
When the water table is high it stretches from the fence in the foreground to the far trees. It's teeming with stuff. It's also a little deceptive. Even the dogs make the ground bounce and I was expecting to beak through at any moment. I did think of wellies but thought if I sunk in I'd have more chance with trainers on.
The insects.
This is another Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary. I think it looks better from the underside than from the top. I don't know what it's feeding on but it will be something common. Common Blue Orchid?
A pair of Large Red Damselflies. It is amazing how well camouflaged they are.
I was beginning to despair of getting one of these in focus as they are very fast and difficult to spot at rest. Moving I can feel the draught from their wings. I was kneeling to get a picture of the exuvia (arrowed) or whatever it's called when this one settled right in front of me. It's a Four Spot Chaser. Not beautiful but impressive.
An Azure Damsel Fly. They are common.
To finish off a couple more Four Spot Chasers.
It was a good morning and it's very peaceful as it's miles from anywhere.
The pictures are cropped but there is room for enlargement aplenty should you so desire.
Have fun, I'm horseing tomorrow. I hope they are good.
The insects.
It was a good morning and it's very peaceful as it's miles from anywhere.
The pictures are cropped but there is room for enlargement aplenty should you so desire.
Have fun, I'm horseing tomorrow. I hope they are good.
A super selection of damsels and dragons, Adrian (incidentally that dragonfly is usually known as a Four-spotted Chaser), but the one I'm really envious of is your Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - would love to get a shot of one!
ReplyDeleteAre you finding that blogger is now taking forever to perform some operations, particularly with regard to comments? It seems to have happened while I was away, and I suspect that it's something to do with the new privacy laws. They also seem to have stopped sending me email notifications when someone posts a comment - a bit of a pain.
With my best wishes - - - Richard
Richard thanks. I originally wrote chaser then thought to change it. I've changed it back.
DeleteBlogger have got free intern Geography students in programming for the summer. All will be well in a while when they get the qualified staff back.
Richard I've discovered that if, as soon as I do a post, I immediately tick the 'Notify me' box when I do a post I get notifications on my own blog.
DeleteThank you, Graham, I shall look out for that
DeleteLooks a grand, if soggy, place to go insect hunting. Lovely clear shots.
ReplyDeleteBlogger / Google have been 'tweaking' things. Several comments on Blogger help forum.
I used to get comments forwarded to my email account but that stopped about 8 days ago. 'Twas supposed to be fixed this week as they tweak things to comply with the latest EU rulings on privacy / security, etc..
John. It's warm soggy. Bloody EU messing with stuff that isn't broken. They ought to be doing their accounts....Bunch of crooks.
DeleteSome may be common but they are not easy to photograph.
ReplyDeleteGraham, they were reasonable today I was getting about a 50% hit rate. Most of my time was spent trying to persuade a frog to sit in a curled Lilly leaf. Little tinker was having none of it.
DeleteI like the butterfly on top of the blue flower. The first wetland picture could almost be a painting - nice balance of colours :)
ReplyDeleteMonica, they are beautiful butterflies.
DeleteThev first picture was popped through NIK Filters HDR and juggled about a bit.
Brilliant photos, Adrian. Btw can you tell me what this is: a housefly-sizes fly with a prominent yellow bottom. It likes our roses, and is very hard to move. I don't think it does any harm, but I've never seen one before. I don't have good enough equipment to take a photo.
ReplyDeleteFrances have a look at Yellow Dung Fly
DeleteThey feed on nectar but lay their eggs in muck.
Just in from horseing around. Worn out and ready for a beer.