Insect Portraits

The warm sun yesterday afternoon brought out quite a few insects in the garden posing on leaves ready for a portrait. The Snail-killing fly Coremacera marginata only sips nectar or dew but the larvae prey on land snails. The first image is a focus stack (15 images Zerene stacker) the second image is a single shot, The Soldier Fly and Hawthorn Shieldbug are focus stacks, the rest are single-shot portraits. The last image is a new one for my list I think, Vulgichneumon saturatoris, with the white spot on the tip of the abdomen 

Signs of Autumn

The appearance of the Ivy bees in the garden, timed to coincide with the Ivy flowering, is a sign that autumn is approaching. Lots of insects yesterday both on the ivy flowers and on the nettles below where the nectar has dropped, even a very tatty Speckled Wood. The Kite-tailed Robberfly was finding plenty of prey. The final two images are of an extraordinary looking very small plant bug - both its nymphal stage and adult that was hiding in the grass at my feet.

July 7th Local Wildlife

This is probably the largest Flower Spider I have found locally and certainly one of the most colourful. The garden is full of young spiders and insects including this year's host of Cinnabar caterpillars making short work of the ragwort flowers (we have plenty!!), the Green Shieldbugs that have hatched from their eggs and starting to explore and a young Red Plantbug. Two interesting Gall-forming Flies, Pondskater and a green-eyed Chrysopilus fly complete the line up.

Beetle Mania Lakenheath

The first images are of Athous haemorrhoidalis, a Click Beetle, taking off - they use the legs and wings to get airborne rather than the spring (Click) mechanism which allows them to jump rapidly when threatened. A variety of other beetles and plant bugs found on Wednesday including some eggs (?Hemiptera species) and first instar Spiked Bugs.