Paxton East Redlands

The long grass edges to the paths on East Redlands were very productive with lots of Banded Demoiselles, Darters and  Damsel flies; one of the Common Blue Damselflies had been caught by the first Wasp Spider I have spotted this year. At last, with the warmer temperatures there were lots Butterflies - Brown Argus, Common Blue  and Essex Skippers, plus a very active Bumble Bee mimicking Hoverfly. 

Banded Demoiselles - Life and Death

I spent a long while last week with the Banded Demoiselles at Trumpington enjoying their iridescent colour that changes from green to blue in sun and shade and was just enjoying this male when a Kite-tailed Robber Fly swooped down and carried it off into the bushes. It hung onto its prey despite me moving it to a more open position - a sad end for the Demoiselle! Other images - female demoiselle and male Banded Demoiselles displaying on the water lilies at Byron's Pool

Butterfly and Dragonfly Survey Paxton

 Definitely lower numbers of Butterflies for our June Survey at Paxton but Dragonflies made up for it with large numbers of Common blue damselflies plus a few Azure and Variable and, mostly strikingly, very large numbers of Emerald damsels and in areas not previously recorded. Here a few images from the day, including male and female Emeralds and Banded Demoiselles, a species of  Potter Wasp, a Red-tipped Clearwing and  Wilke's mining Bee

Demoiselles and Damselflies Fen Drayton

The mixture of sunshine and showers yesterday was excellent for photographing Damselflies and Demoiselles. Mainly I relied on choosing insects that were separated sufficiently from their backgrounds to allow a single exposure to get a satisfactory image as with this Red-eyed Damselfly. Then along comes a Banded Demoiselle with a Mayfly breakfast and lands right in the reeds. The single shot was very muddled so I tried a focus stack. Realising the background red stalks would distract, I moved to the front but then a focus stack did not have enough depth so concentrated just on the head as it munched its way through the Mayfly.

 

Trumpington Meadows - Banded Demoiselles etc

Eventually the chilly and blustery weather during our walk round Trumpington Meadows was replaced by sunshine and the Banded Demoiselles took to the air for a bit of hunting and display. I have long wanted to get them in flight with the wings well displayed and at last here are some shots both against the sky and in vegetation. Several Mayflies hanging around as well as serving as meals for the Demoiselles. Several other photogenic subjects including the Black-headed Mason Bee - possibly quite a rarity. At the end a fly infected with Entomophthora fungus - seen quite a few this year - perhaps the damp conditions are favouring the fungus.