Lackford Lakes Action Shots

A very enjoyable day at Lackford Lakes yesterday in near perfect weather - sunny but not too hot and light winds so plenty of insect activity  as well as a very obliging Great White Egret that hunted in front of one of the hides. Only disappointment was not seeing the Camberwell Beauty that was around in the afternoon. Two plus Hummingbird Hawkmoths on the Buddleia kept us entertained for a couple of sessions along with Hornets, which are too fast for me to capture in flight unless coming into land or weighted down by a bee prey. Migrant Hawkers and Darters ruled in the Dragonfly sector. Macro session of other insects to follow!

Trumpington Meadows Butterfly Transect

Other than a few green stinging nettles nestled in the hedgerows, everywhere is dry and brown as in other reserves, so we were not expecting and did not find large numbers of Butterflies on our weekly transect. Small Coppers, Small Heaths, Small Whites, Brown Argus and Common Blues were the only species present in any numbers. I photographed a single Green-veined White and a Hummingbird hawkmoth egg laying plus a couple of Wasp Spiders.

 

RSPB Sandy 12th August

 A curtailed but enjoyable RPSNature outing to Sandy on Wednesday - those booked to come on the outing who lived a long distance away took the advice to postpone to a cooler time so just Chris and I braved the temperatures spending most of our time where we could stand in the shade photographing insects on sunlit plants. We concentrated on the Butterflies and Hummingbird Hawkmoths in the morning. In the afternoon, I hoped to get a range of Bee species on the heather to start to learn IDs for this group of insects but there were very few active in the intense heat so we decided it was wise to also abandon the open spaces and head for home!!

Hot Afternoon at Hardwick Wood

I was not alone in Hardwick Wood yesterday afternoon as the temperature rose - lots of Ruddy Darters were  hunting prey from sunlit perches while Silver-washed Fritillaries, Gatekeepers and two Hummingbird Hawkmoths were feeding on the abundant knapweed along the Port Way. This ancient track is a model habitat for butterflies and other insects with woodland shelter on one side, a close mown path and a wide unmown area and ditch on the other. (It has been pointed out that the butterfly I photographed on the the Port Way was a Dark Green Fritillary - (not the Silver-washed I was expecting as fairly abundant still inside the wood) - presumably a vagrant from a breeding colony - there are some good chalkhill habitats just south of us).

 

RSPB Sandy Insects

Saturday afternoon was just about perfect for insect photography with warm temperatures but light cloud most of the time clearing about 16.00 to give good directional light. RSPB Sandy as always produced some very interesting scenarios including this Sharp-tailed Bee taking a nap in the Lavendar (bees often 'sleep' clamped onto a flower or leaf with their mandibles but I haven't seen a vertical 'napper' before), tricolor jewel wasp,  lots of Green-eyed Flower bees, Hummingbird Hawkmoths and a Colletes Bee (Apps suggest Ivy bee but surely too early)