More Pictures

Just a few more pictures to share with you.



Hoverfly





Sloe Bug larva





Speckled Bush cricket




Terrapin




Toad




Troilus Luridus larva




Herefordshire Landscape




Marbled White Butterfly




Scorpion Fly




Speckled Bush Cricket




Troilus Luridus larva




Black Tailed Skimmer




Black Tailed Skimmer close up




Crab Spider




Large White Butterfly



Picture Post

Second Posting this week following only a day after the other. Its going to be all pictures though. No spiel.

Angle Shades moth



Small Skipper




Crab Spider




Garden Spider




Nursery Web Spider




Bee in Flight




Dark Bush Cricket




Large winged Conehead




Meadow Grasshopper




Small Winged Conehead




Fem Speckled Bush Cricket



Meadow Grasshopper




Coremacera Marginata




Green Bottle




Coreus Marginatus Larva




Coreus Marginatus Larva 2




Green Shield bug Larva




Garden spider



Hope you enjoy them. I just wanted to show a few more Shots.

Shields Up

I've been having some lovely visitors to the garden recently, both a male and female Sparrowhawk and a family of Long tailed Tits. Didn't get shots of the Sparrowhawks but did manage a shot or two of the LTT's

There were seven on the feeder at one point. Lovely to have them in the garden.

Mixed weather again this week, but slightly more opportunities for photography, the birds are mostly still in moult so its been bugs again. I have added a few to my catalogue this week, its been mostly shield bugs and the best of these was this.

Its a Coreus Marginatus, commonly known as the Dock leaf shield bug. Identified by the tiny horns between its antennae. A new species to me.

I also had Green Shield Bug larva. 

Slightly different stages, they have a lot of black on them which fades away as they mature. 

I also got a Hawthorn Shield Bug. Very similar to the Green but identified by the reddish hue on the body.

I have spent over 7 hours searching the hedgerows around the parks around my house and I am chuffed with the results. I have also had a Sloe bug, sometimes known as the Hairy bug.

It's not just been the Shield bugs, I got my first shots of two of the Cricket family this week too, Coneheads both long and short winged.

Whilst I was photographing one of the two I looked down and saw a Dark bush Cricket on my tripod leg, time for a slightly different shot.

They really do look prehistoric don't they?

 A couple of Spider shots, firstly the crab spider. Very difficult to get this as it was a bit blowy.

and a close up Garden Spider.

I will finish with a tiny and a very tiny snail.

The first was possibly a centimetre in size the second is about half that size. It wasn't until I looked at the picture on the computer that I even saw the tiny little critter to the left of the snail in the second picture that must have been miniscule.

Hope you enjoy the results of my time in the undergrowth.

Local findings

With only two opportunities for photography since my last post I have little to show you this time. I did manage to obtain a couple more Holly Blue images so that was a bonus. there is a little story to tell about that so I'll save that to the end.

Common Darter featured this week again.



I was after the Hawker that I'd seen hawking around a small pit just about 200 yards from my house, its a drainage pit and very secluded.

I tried the shot with the flash, I like it but I prefer the normal light shot, what do you think?

Spiders have also been on the menu, mostly Garden Spider.

But also Harvestman

and also this, I cannot identify it from my books, I guess it must be a Harvestman of some kind as it's the same general size.

Its a little out of focus, its a tiny critter and I cropped it to try and show the body and those weird pincer type things at the front. Any ideas?

Right, Holly Blue's. I was after bugs in the hedgerow over the road from my house, where I had seen the Holly Blue in the last post, I didn't expect to see the butterfly as I genuinely thought it was passing through. Imagine my surprise then when not only one but three were flitting around the tops of the bushes. Initially I just couldn't get close enough so I popped back in doors and got the 70-200 lens. I managed these three shots.

There were Large whites and Speckled woods flitting around everywhere too, I then became aware of a Hawker dragonfly  buzzing around, I was praying that it would land so I'd get my first shot, but as I watched it I was amazed to see it set off after a large white, chase it and eventually catch it and then almost tumble to the ground where a struggle ensued. I only managed three frames which are not brilliant because the subjects were in longish grass, but this is one of them.

I was amazed that after a few seconds the dragonfly gave up and flew off, I was over 6 feet away so I didn't disturb him. The butterfly did not fly off it fluttered around on the floor then seemed to bury itself into the grass and lay still. Have you ever seen that happen?

So thats it this week, sorry its a bit lacking in quality come back next week and lets see if I can improve on that. Thanks for looking.