A lovely sunny afternoon emerged after a dull start to the day. Ideal for spending some time in the garden; and evidently ideal for the host of insects that came out to enjoy some time in the sun.
We’re fortunate to have plenty of bees in the garden. They have a particular taste for the hibiscus bush, so much so that it is a small wonder they can even fly.
Not all of them are quite so greedy. This bee was enjoying a taste of wild marjoram.
All the time the gentle buzz of bees was punctuated by the percussive chatter of grasshoppers.
As for the butterflies, I saw painted ladies, small whites, a couple of red admirals, several blues (different species), a speckled wood and numerous amorous large whites.
These are the large whites. They were darting all over the garden whilst engaging in a courtship ritual where the female rests and the male dances around her. The female’s raised abdomen is actually a ‘rejection’ posture as it makes mating impossible. This is a common feature in butterfly behaviour, and she may well have already mated.
Camera note: greedy bee taken with the Canon 7D and EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM; marjoram bee, grasshopper and speckled wood taken with the EF 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM lens; and the mating large white butterflies with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.