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
Not quite in the same league as RBC but a welcome sight in my garden ... Is this called 'Katydid' ???
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
WendyBartter said:Is this called 'Katydid' ?
I don't know whether Katy did but you certainly have Wendy. LOL. It looks like some type of bush cricket but I know not the type. Formidable looking rear appendage (ovipositor?)
It was a hoverfly morning in my garden. Warm and sunny (sorry peeps up north) here in the Tropic of Twyford. The hoverflies were attracted to the flowers on my Echinops - as were the bees - and there were several different varieties. Time to get the 100mm macro lens on the camera and see what I could snap.
I've tried to ID them but this is a new area for me so if you spot errors please say.
This was quite a large one . I think it's Myathropa florea.
I think this one might be Helophilus pendulus but not confident. Corrected by Edge to Marmalade Fly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Quite a long body but I'm stumped by this one. EDIT Sphaerophoria scripta Thanks to Paul A
This was small despite the picture size. I think it might be Syrphus ribesii. EDIT Not confirmed
At first I thought this was an ordinary fly but through the folded wings yellow and black stripes are visible. Can't ID this one with any certainty.
EDIT Edge has identified this as a Marmalade Fly (Episyrphus balteatus)
I was supposed to be clearing bindweed which is threatening to overwhelm my front garden but this was more fun.
____________________________________________________________________
Tony
My Flickr Photostream
I think you had the right idea Tony, taking photos is much more fun than clearing bindweed & better for the insects too (they like bindweed)!
Unknown said:Quite a long body but I'm stumped by this one.
Hi Tony, perhaps try 'Sphaerophoria scripta' (male) here. or here. The can seemingly have quite variable markings. Cracking set of shots.
My bird photos HERE
Thanks Paul, that looks a perfect match. I'm just annoyed I didn't get it totally in focus
It`s a good hobby,spotting hovers,TJ.Has a few advantages over birdwatching.They are generally much more approachable, you don't need a huge lens for pics and nobody is gonna throw a massive hissy fit if you swipe a net over one. Cant pin your syrphus down to `ribesii` from the view.Females are easier (fully yellow hind femurs) to id. Your pendulus & last photo are marmalade hoverflies. Love your Myathropa(Batman) florea.Here`s H.(the footballer)Pendulus & a female ribesii.
Love your Hovers & your descriptions of them EB!!
Though you might like to know that VZ lost her way & ended up on neighbour's wall ... he sent a message asking 'what the hell is this hoooge thingy?'
Naturally I demanded he return it to my garden immediately but not seen it yet!!
ITM another 'common' one from my local park yesterday which obligingly sat still on the path beside the pond ... looks pretty special to me!
VZ. Nice one,Wendy.I look & look but they`re always V.inanis. Could be a couple of years before VZ gets here :-( Love your darter too.
Thanks for your ID's, Edge. I've edited my post.
I'd like to see one of your Batman jobbies.
I`ve a picture on page 8, TJ. Yours are all good angles so I`ll just add a front view. What`s the value in having hairy eyes? Its lost an antenna - Fighting crime?