No, not the sound of leather on willow, but something closer to a dentist’s drill. I saw this beauty while out photographing butterflies. It’s a Roesel’s bush cricket, the first I’ve seen and quite stunning.
The butterflies were plentiful, with a good variety of species sharing a small thicket at the edge of field.
Meadow Brown (upper) and Comma (lower)
Gatekeeper. Note the two white dots which distinguish this from the similar meadow brown
Red Admiral (a rare sighting this year)
And one more from yesterday. About the only thing that distracted me from the swallows…
Heron
Camera note: the heron and the photo of the two butterflies were taken with the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens. The rest were taken with the Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG macro lens (and the in-built flash on the EOS 40D).
Cynthia23
10 Jul 2009Fantastic Words! Simply fantastic images inside simply fantastic photography!! :up:
RobinL
10 Jul 2009Wow, wonderful shots. You're right about the cricket.
I haven't seen any Admirals this year either.
Then Heron is a beauty.
gdare
10 Jul 2009So many details on cricket 🙂 When I was a kid we used to ctach them and then let them jump away from our palms. Then we would try to catch another one 😀
SittingFox
10 Jul 2009That cricket is remarkable. I don't think that I've ever seen one of that species.
Nice shots of the butterflies, too 🙂
Words
10 Jul 2009Darko, I used to try to catch grasshoppers, but I never saw anything like this one. 🙂
Words
10 Jul 2009Cynthia, thanks!
Words
10 Jul 2009Adele, it was a first for me. It's quite large, but it was the colour that really caught my attention.
Words
10 Jul 2009Robin, the cricket was a real treat. I'd never seen one of these before but the colours were so striking. It was in an awkward position and I had to gently tie back some of the grass so I could get a clear shot.
gdare
11 Jul 2009They are usual here, much more than other ones 😀
Words
14 Jul 2009Neil, it's strange how difficult they can be to spot. You can hear them all over the place, but trying to spot them is another matter entirely. This one was tucked in behind a butterfly.
Ukwildlife
14 Jul 2009Great Rosels, Ive not seen one bigger than a nymph but heard loads meadow sweeping, but the kids seem only able to catch grasshoppers and speckled bush crickets, I may have to have a crack next week 🙂
great butterflies and heron photos too
lovinmalamutes
16 Jul 2009Wow, I enjoyed the beauty of nature as I strolled through your post.
Great post!!!:yes: 😀
Words
17 Jul 2009Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it 😀
anonymous
17 Jul 2009TBR writes:
Super Roesel's Bush Cricket Words.
I'm lucky enough two have had a few come up and present themselves to me in the garden over the last few years, and even once wander straight into the kitchen!
I've heard their "song" compared to an pylon, whining in an electric storm (which I like!) as well as a dentists drill (which I don't)!
Yours is the short-winged version – this used to be the norm for RBCs, but over the last decade or so, long-winged individuals seem to be the norm – a response to climate change, many scientists speculate.
I don't think I've ever seen a short-winged RBC, but quite a few LONG, until seeing your photo that is.
Super photo.
Words
17 Jul 2009Doug, thanks for the extra info on the cricket. I wasn't sure what they meant by short-winged (these seem vast compared with speckled bush crickets). I'll keep my eyes open for more of them.