All about insects 2022

I'll get this one started off with a Marmalade Hoverfly  -Episyrphus balteatus

who was enjoying the sunshine and shelter of the patio

Cin J

  • Even though I know a lot about Photography I havnt heard of Macro Photography before until I joined here where there are photographers aswell. Some of my digital Camaras have a macro photography function where you push the switch up for Macro and down to switch Macro off. But I mainly use my phone or I pad cause the digital  arnt very good and I need to get a digital camara more designed for Wildlife photography which also has Macro. I normaly just use Zoom but sometimes  I use a phone scope or more accurately Microscope that clips on your phone lense. which magnifys the image to the point you can see little details and take photos of things that would be difficult with binoculars, telescope, or normal zoom. I love zooming in after takeing a photo and haveing a look aswell

  • The Spiders loved it today. I saw another fly aswell as these and it acidently landed in a Spiders web

    Which made the Spider exited and go after him but the fly was able to get away and the spider went right up to it and attempted to bite it multiple times but kept missing cause it kept dodging at the last minute. And managed to Land on my dogwood Shrub.

    Not all are as lucky as that fly though but if it wasn’t for spiders the fly population wouldn’t be kept in check. Flys have compound eyes unlike ours. There eyes are very sensitive to movement so they are able to anticipate movements around them and react at just the right moment. I wasn’t able to get a picture of that one cause it didn’t hang around since even though it was safe now the dogwood it was on was next to the Spider that tryed to catch him. So I  wasn’t able to get a picture of him but the interaction was interesting. 

    With flys and flying insects I find It helps if you kneel down and gradually approach slowly but not from the front otherwise it might fly off at the last second. Then Stay still turn your camara into portrait or landscape mode and Then slowly put your camara up and take a photo from behind and the side. And if your lucky you might even be able to get a photo from the front.  I find the best times to take photos of them is when there still and not moveing around or engageing In behaviours like preening 

    Preening 

    Resting 

  • A bit of web building going on today ...

  • Spiders aren’t nsects. There in a different family called arachnids. But I think the photos are good anyway.
  • Ah, thank you for the reminder!
  • Daniels Brook, Gloucestershire 



    Greetings from one blue bottle to green bottle it looks as if there shakeing hands however the fly is actually preening in the green bottles face it kept touching the green bottle aswell. The green bottle just flinched and just stared 



    Dock shield Bug

  • Iv done a forum specifically for Spiders for in case  anyone manages to get any photos of spiders exspeacialy good ones like those ones.

    https://community.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/f/photography/281342/spiders-share-your-photos-here

  • Someone enjoying the fallen fruit....

    Most likely a sawfly, as always, corrections/confirmation are welcome.

    And a common green shieldbug, feeding from some dead lavender seed heads...