Summer. Time for all the creepy crawlies to come to the fore. Everywhere you look insects creep, flutter and fly. This is a small selection taken over another glorious weekend. As for detailed identifications… I know, I should try harder 😉
Six-spotted burnet moths
One of the small blue butterfly variants
Forester moth
Fritillary sp. butterfly
This next shot is a common sight on the South Downs. It's a spider's funnel web; but before anyone starts a panic the web belongs to the very common and harmless Labyrinth spider.
Funnel web
Finally, from out on the Downs, a pair of marbled white butterflies. Despite being very commonplace at the moment (I see them everywhere), their habit of flitting ceaselessly among long grasses makes them one of the more difficult varieties to photograph.
Marbled whites
The garden is equally rich with subjects to photograph.
A cinnabar moth caterpillar
A ladybird and greenfly
A common grasshopper
A leaf-cutter bee (with leaf cutting)
Finally, completely off-topic, I saw the Bold vixen in the garden tonight. If you recall, she developed a series of dark patches on one side. They appeared mysteriously over the winter. It seems the summer moult has done its job.
Bold vixen
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 40D. The first five were with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens, and the sixth (butterflies) was taken with the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM. The garden bugs were all taken with the Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG macro lens. The vixen was photographed with the EF 24-105 F4L IS USM lens.
12 Comments
Ladybird looks ready for lunch :chef:
Originally posted by words:
Great news. 🙂
Glad her patches have gone. Their coats do take a while to right themselves sometimes.
Very nice insect collection, especially the grasshopper!
A super selection – great detail! Excellent news on Bold's patches. :up:
Darko, a nice tasty meal :yuck:
Adele, thanks! It's a good time of year for the insects. I've seen less of Bold recently so I hadn;t seen the transition on the bald patches. She'll look wonderful by the autumn.
Vulpes, thanks!
Mick, yes I was surprised to see how well her coat is growing back. I'd almost given up hope.
Erwin, thanks!
Each photo is excellent, of course. The catch of the Marbled whites is fantastic! Amazing view of the wing movement. WOW!
great macros
A very Great set of Photos