A Walk with Full Spectrum Camera

 I took my Full Spectrum camera (with no added filters) for a stroll around Toft on Tuesday in the sunshine. The Meadow Sweet is in full bloom at the moment and produces really delicate tones with this camera. 90 degrees to the sun seems best for scenes that include sky.

Insects in the Rain

 With the wet and cooler conditions, most of the insects were resting up on or under leaves or in the grass during the last few days just coming out with the sun. Here a selection - most identified!

Toft New Species

Good to get another new species for my Toft list, the Brown Lacewing Micromus angulatus, living alongside Rhopalus subrufus, a very colourful plant bug, Green Shieldbugs mating, Tortoise Shieldbug, several Hoverfly species, including Baccha elongata, and Hymenoptera.

Toft Churchyard Insects

A few bees and friends from a very windy session at Toft Churchyard. There were mining bees everywhere - Andrena cineraria, the Ashy Mining Bee, males have emerged in very large numbers along with  Andrena flavipes and Andrena scotica. I recorded two species of Nomad bees Nomada goodenia (male and female) and N. flava which parasitise the species of mining bees present at the moment so all fits. Bombus pascorum and Andrena fulva complete the sightings. Good to see two other insects that were here at this time last year - the Pied Shieldbug and Rhingia campestris hoverfly.

Bee Flies, Bees and Birds in Toft

A miscellany from the last couple of days in Toft - bee flies taken at 1/800th and1/6400th second and still not quite stopping wing movement; three Andrena species of mining bees (A,nitida, A. heamorrhoa and A. cineraria); three migrant species (Chiffchaff, blackcap,Willow warbler) and a Dunnock.