This is a follow-up to yesterday's post. As expected, all the dragonfly nymphs had emerged by this morning and I was greeted in the garden by several fine-looking common darter dragonflies.
And there may be more tomorrow. I spotted three more nymphs crawling out of the pond tonight.
The garden is a hive of insect activity at the moment. Spiders are building webs, small speckled bush crickets and common grasshoppers are flourishing, the bees are buzzing, and our hummingbird hawk-moth is making repeated circuits of the lavender. I love these moths. As well as being large and prone to hovering more or less in one spot (albeit briefly), they are wonderfully predictable. They return time and again to the same feeding points so if you miss a shot the first time it's simply a matter of waiting until it returns. They're quick, and dart about; but with patience it is possible to get some usable shots (among the innumerable unusable ones). 
One brief fox sighting today. A vixen flew across the back of the garden early evening. I don't think she realized we were in the garden when she dropped down over the fence. She didn't hang about.
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM lens, apart from the final shot which was taken with the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens.
RobinL
3 Jul 2011Words, great shots! We haven't had much insect activity yet. It's been so wet and cool that nothing has really got going yet. Hopefully that's changing this week and they are forecasting a dry sunny spell. Maybe we'll get some summer yet!
SittingFox
3 Jul 2011Wow, well done! You're enjoying using that macro lens, aren't you! 😉
Words
3 Jul 2011Adele, I hadn't realized they'd bred in the pond but I'm glad they did. Had more fun this morning with more nymphs climbing out.
Words
3 Jul 2011Robin, thanks! Had more fun this morning. I watched two nymphs crawl out of the pond, climb a stick and then go through the whole emerging process. All captured on stills and video. The weather here is excellent. Summer, but not too hot.
Dudley
3 Jul 2011First class photos. You got nice and close too!
Words
4 Jul 2011Andy, thanks. I had an even better encounter today!
gdare
4 Jul 2011Last year we had a lot of dragonflies around, I don`t remember it was ever like that. We will see about this summer :dragonfly:
Mickeyjoe-Irl
4 Jul 2011The hawkmoths are amazing, though I probably wouldn't want to meet one face-to-face.
garyftruman
6 Jul 2011amazing,what great insects?are moths insects?great blog,thanks for shareing this with us
Words
6 Jul 2011Erwin, thanks!
Words
6 Jul 2011Darko, I hope they do well this year for you. Their numbers can vary greatly year to year.
Words
6 Jul 2011Gary, yes moths are indeed insects. They seem to be doing really well this year. They're quite big, so unmistakeable if you are lucky enough to see them.
Words
6 Jul 2011Mick, the hawkmoths are much more disciplined in flight than most moths. I like the way they hover and then dart off at speed.
Wulpen
19 Oct 2012Beautiful