Wild Flower Species in My Garden

It seemed a simple task on a free day to record what wild flowers are in bloom in my garden at the moment but I had underestimated how many species I would find and, even after over 60 years practising (yes it was a childhood obsession too), I still find getting attractive images of flowers in situ really difficult. Here are the species from my front garden which has herbaceous beds that are a mix of cultivated and wild species; I find these do really well together in maintaining a good ground cover and height  - essential in these dry conditions for invertebrate life.

Lark Rise Farm Barton (Countryside Regeneration Trust)

 Lots of butterflies around for our morning visit with Marbled White by far the commonest species. I was looking for butterflies and other insects in good condition and on attractive perches away from other vegetation to try for some pictorial images. The wind was the greatest barrier to achieving this but here are a few that I liked plus a species sheet for those seen in the 90 minutes we spent there

Garden Spiders etc

Definitely to be too hot in Cambridgeshire to be outdoors photographing insects so these are the remainder from yesterday's garden hunt. The Flower Spider (Misuna) was deep inside a white rose with its prey while the Labyrinth spider has built an impressive den in the Acanthus. Blue-tailed, female immature Common Blue and male Azure Blue all competing for space around the pond. Favourite species the Figwort Sawfly. IDs on sheets at end of images.

 

Marbled Whites are Back in Toft Wood

  As I had seen one or two elsewhere, I thought perhaps the Marbled Whites had forsaken Toft Wood Meadow but today there were more than a dozen newly hatched males flying around and nectaring. First recorded in the wood as a newcomer to the area on July 11th 2012, they spread through England as the climate has gone warmer and appear earlier each year. Also lots of Skippers now and other moths and butterflies plus the usual quota of plant bugs and flies (ID sheet included).