Eric & Lesley's Wildlife Blog

Rare Butterfly

17/6/2022

One reason for travelling is to find restricted distribution species. Argyll is rich in insect life including species we cannot find in Eastern Scotland. For that reason, we visit once a year in late Spring when there's plenty activity about and the weather is often agreeable with few of the unwelcome insects.
Nine dragonflies are quite possible; if fact we scored eight on this year's visit, missing out on Golden-ringed which may not have emerged given that it seems to be a late Spring. However there are also interesting Butterflies and Moths. As well as the restricted range Chequered Skipper which we saw there is the Marsh Fritillary. We don't see it every year but this year we found, perhaps, four. The underside is distinctive as it is with many butterflies which look much the same on the upper wing. A cloud had come over and thankfully this one settled for a photo call.

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Bee? or Fly?

11/5/2022

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Spring migrants are arriving - Swifts arrived yesterday, one of the last to appear. However there are other stirrings.
Insects are emerging - some Butterflies have overwintered as adults but other insects such as the Dark-edged Bee-fly have remained in the pupal stage until now. The latin name is a bit of a giveaway. It is in the genus Bombylius. Without knowing the higher classification it sound like a Bumble bee, however it is a fly with a strong connection to bumble bees since it parasitises them. Fortunately is is harmless to us, in fact it is a pollinator so should be encouraged. The long proboscis is used for feeding and cannot be used as an offensive weapon.
I did not know this species in my youth - it is one responding to warmers Springs.

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Butterfly Time

8/7/2021

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It's July now and the birds are off the menu. They have no reason to show themselves unless they have a second brood. The vegetation is as high as an elephant's eye. Insects are the order of the day.
Technically there's a challenge that comes with insects. Because they are so small there's little depth of field. Sometimes that's a good thing - a long telephoto exploits that fact. However with macro you have difficulty in getting even the whole insect in focus. With butterflies that results in two styles of picture. Top view or side view. In this way the whole subject is in the same plane. This is a Northern Brown Argus, a local species. The subject has chosen to offer me the side view.

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Gotcha

6/8/2020

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There are perennial subject that I try to photograph every year (subject to season). One of these is trying to get the perfect Pond Skater showing the weight of the insect distorting the surface layer due to surface tension. I have "wasted" a few pixels on that subject this year again. Another is trying insects, and particularly dragonflies in flight. It often seems a hopeless task. Often, I have either taken no pictures during the session or none with the intended subject in the picture.
Today I had a bit of good fortune with this Common Hawker. Or perhaps the equipment is the only improvement. It is not perfect but hey, it is the best so far. Nevertheless I will be back again for more "punishment". It is the game we play. We know the rules. You must suffer for your art. Then you really appreciate the successes. Its part of the human condition.

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Bumbling Along

28/6/2020

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A couple of days ago we went walking in a local den which is a strip of woodland with a steam running through. At this time of the year its usually hard to see much and so it proved.
We retreated to the upper slopes where it was quiet of people although a bit windy. There, we found a couple of bumble bees feeding. I had an inkling that I hadn't seen this pattern before so I took a couple of pictures but the wind made it difficult.
Back home I found another on the pavement in front of the house (pictured). Its a Tree Bumblebee.
Tree Bumblebees were first discovered in Britain in 2001. They have been steadily moving northwards. They are aided by a liking for nesting in bird boxes so humans have been helping them along if inadvertently. It was satisfying to find a new species literally on the doorstep.

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Pretty in Pink

22/8/2019

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Last month we travelled to the southern counties of England on the lookout for insects including some rarer ones. At Kingcombe it was moth trapping along with outings for butterflies, We failed on Purple Emperor but had success with Southern, and Scarce Blue-tailed, Damselflies as well as commoner species like Gatekeeper. It was hot but not suffocatingly so.
In the New Forest we were very pleased to see Nightjar hawking at sunset.
This picture is of a female Marbled White against the pink of Rosebay Willowherb.

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Giving A Good Impression

25/6/2019

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Come the summer months I spend less time with birds and, consequently, more with beasties. I enjoy a walk with a camera, looking down instead of up and ahead. If I find something I take a picture and then try to identify it. In past times this was tough but now it is a bit easier with so much (and better quality) reference material.
A couple of day ago I took this picture. At the time I wondered if it was a hoverfly rather than a bumble bee. It is. This is Volucella bombylans, a hoverfly that mimics a Bumble Bee. There are two versions of this species for two different hosts. The white tip on the abdomen indicates this one mimics the White-tailed Bumble Bee, Bombus lucorum. This gives it a degree of protection from predators since Bumble Bees sting. However this species of Hoverfly also begins life in a Bumble bee nest so the association is much tighter. Endlessly fascinating.

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Rare Butterfly

Bee? or Fly?

Butterfly Time

Gotcha

Bumbling Along

Pretty in Pink

Giving A Good Impression

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