Oh well, no sooner said than done. All you budding entomologists or photographers or anyone who likes nature, you can put your insect photos here!
I'll kick off with a few that I've had lately. This first is called a Mantis Fly & is a cross between a Fly & Mantis (funnily enough) & is in the Neuroptera family, which is a mixed bunch anyway, my first & I had 3 of them around the moth trap
& a Rhinocerus Beetle which was also attracted to the light & are quite rare now around here, he really was fabulous, very impressive,
& this Frelon was also in the moth trap, but seemed quite docile as long as I kept my distance!
& some Damsel flies, an Azure Damselfly (thanks for the ID Aiki)
a Large Red Damsel
& from early may a proper fly from the Dipteras, anyone know the English name, I think it's latin name is Otites lamed,
I usually only take photos of flies with interesting wings as I am hopeless at identiying them!
Thanks for looking & maybe you can post some of yours!!
Best wishes
Hazel in Southwest France
Oooh get you, Frog 'n all!! Had my pond nearly a year now &, despite all the signposts & big pointy arrows no Froggie has found it, save for the cheeky china chappie from the local pound shop!!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
I’m sure if you give it time you’ll have a visit at one time or another. It was actually Tee Tee who discovered the Frog; we spotted her perched on a rock and staring into the water. On a sadder note we lost Harry, our old cat, a few weeks back. He just got really old really quickly; we’ve buried him next to the pond.
My bird photos HERE
@ Paul, so really sorry to hear you lost Harry pussy-cat, I remember the pics of he and Tee Tee around the garden and pond area; it's so hard to lose such a loved pet and member of the family. When I was born we had a female cat who lived for 15 years - it was supposedly the runt of a litter which Mum couldn't see put down and my Dad who worked as a gardener on a large estate buried her there along side the flowers and garden beds he tended. I think Harry would approve of his resting place, bless him.
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Regards, Hazel
Thanks Hazel, you are very kind. Regardless of whether we gave him fresh water or milk to drink, he always preferred to drink pond water.!! :-)
Sad news about Harry PA but you gave hime a good life & fitting burial & he lives on in your heart!
My Old boy is 16 now & getting a bit bony & moany, hope he goes like his Mum did a couple of years ago, no vets, just laid on the grass & went!!
Thanks Wendy. We also had hoped that we wouldn’t need the help of a vet but in the end it was the only option left to prevent unnecessary suffering.
So, it's summer, time to get the macro lens out.
I've bought a Hoverfly book since last year so I've no real excuses for getting the ID's wrong - but I probably will.
I've ID'd this one as Myathropa florea having a bit of a scratch. Please, Edge, tell me that I'm right.
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
Set up my home cobbled moth trap for third time tonight & have so far drawn a big fat nothing ... can't have too bright a light as too near neighbours (& still not very popular 'cos of feeding the birds!) but I live in hope of some nocturnal visitors ... in the meantime ... return to lounge to see a largish moth flying around which looks promising! Cue mad scramble to turn off halogen uplighters before it can fry itself & then frantic antics to capture in butterfly home (in which I reared Painted Ladies last year) ... I had bagged a beautiful Silver Y Moth, one of my favourites
Not a completely wasted evening!
That's a lovely clear macro shot Tony, did you use a tripod ? I tend to get lazy and hand hold the camera but should have a practice with my macro lens as there are quite a few insects around at the moment and I've saw 4 different butterflies yesterday: Red Admiral, Small White, Brimstone and Holly Blue ! must be all those Aldi flowers I got lol
Thanks folks. No it was hand held, Hazel, the insects don't stay still long enough to mess about with tripods. The Canon 100mm lens is such a cracker that produces really sharp images. I try to use a high f-stop to get a good depth of field.