Communal Dragonfly, Butterfly and Insect photo thread

[Harold Gough]

Red Eye Damselfly

Yes. A male.

Harold

[Pete W]

Broad Bodied Chaser

[Pete W]

Four Spotted Chaser

[Harold Gough]

i don't know how you get so close. I struggle to fill the frame with 400mm on m4/3!

Harold

[Pete W]

These were taken with the 300mm with 1.4x attached on the E-M1x

[alfbranch]

Well this is a mixed bag of days and subjects




Here is a bumble bee on a thistle in the garden




Bumble bee on thistle by Alf Branch, on Flickr




A leaf cutter bee in a flower




Leaf cutter bee by Alf Branch, on Flickr




The only resident in my bee hotel a walnut orb weaver




Walnut orb weaver by Alf Branch, on Flickr







A dragonfly emerging




Emerging dragonfly by Alf Branch, on Flickr




A dolly fly




Dolly fly by Alf Branch, on Flickr




An ant




Ant by Alf Branch, on Flickr




A spider




Spider by Alf Branch, on Flickr




A drinker caterpillar




The drinker by Alf Branch, on Flickr

[alfbranch]

Thanks for the info Harold I will look at it. I am glad the shot brought you memories.

[alfbranch]

Harold
Having observed thus spider and reading my book I am convinced it a walnut orb weaver

[Harold Gough]

Alf,

I think you're right. It does seem to be variable in pattern.

Harold

[MJ224]

Nice set Alf, I always say Spiders are fun...:-))

[MJ224]

False Oil Beetle on a bramle

by Mark Johnson, on Flickr

[Harold Gough]

Oedemera nobilis male. More commonly known as the Swollen-thighed Beetle. Nice image.

Harold

[Harold Gough]

Panurgus banksianus Large Shaggy Bee Female

I think this is Panurgus banksianus. There are some species of Andrena which look similar.

The name may say "Large" but these bees are tiny. They don't often sit still.

Olympus EM-1 (aperture priority), Olympus 4/3 x2 TC, Olympus 4/3 50mm f2 macro, f11, hand-held.

Harold

[alfbranch]

Nice work Harold

[Harold Gough]

Thanks, Alf.

I think that these are around each year at about this time but they are so small and active that I rarely get to frame one. We are allowing long grass to grow on both sides of the wild part of our garden, a central path allowing some access to insects without crushing too much of it.

Harold

[MJ224]

Peacock Caterpillars

by Mark Johnson, on Flickr

[art frames]

Nice to see you have them too. Our local Butterfly Conservation chairman tweeted a picture last week saying there were good numbers about locally. But I am not venturing out yet so enjoy seeing all the pictures here.

[Harold Gough]

I have found them only once in recent years and that was on farmland.

Harold

[bigsambwfc]

http://Nymphfly reflection lambs pool 8/6/20 by Walter Warburton, on Flickrmk2 p/l 100/400lens

[alfbranch]

Well i have been out on invertebrate safari (well I was looking for other stuff too) with my E-M1ii and 40-150 f2.8 and MC-14 1.4X teleconverter a bit lately so here some insects I have captured they are generrally heavy crops




I was observing these tiny bees at Talkin tarn in Cumbria and they seemed initially to be struggling hand onto plant/grass stems and doing a pole dance round them but I wonder if they are trying to wipe the pollen toa certain part of the body.




Tiny bee 3 by Alf Branch, on Flickr




Tiny bee by Alf Branch, on Flickr




Tiny bee 2 by Alf Branch, on Flickr




I think this is an orange tailed mining bee I was waiting forever for this to surface and the wife was waiting so gave up




Orange tailed mining bee by Alf Branch, on Flickr




I observed this bumble bee moving from one clover flower to another




Bumble bee by Alf Branch, on Flickr

[alfbranch]

A robber fly which I think is a fan bristled robberfly




Robberfly by Alf Branch, on Flickr




A leaf cutter bee showing where she carries her pollen




Leafcutter bee by Alf Branch, on Flickr




Leafcutter bee 2 by Alf Branch, on Flickr




Different stages of a six spot burnet




Burnet caterpillar by Alf Branch, on Flickr




6 spot Burnet by Alf Branch, on Flickr




A hoverfly shot that was relatively easy due to the AF tracking it




Hover fly by Alf Branch, on Flickr

[Harold Gough]

Alf,

An excellent set. I think your first one may be a Lasioglossum but they are very difficult. Look out for the tiny Hylaeus (males with white lower face).

Harold

[alfbranch]

Thanks for that info I have shot Hylaeus bees before

Hylaeus bee 1 by Alf Branch, on Flickr

[Harold Gough]

You certainly have. That looks like a pictipes male.

Harold

[MJ224]

Cinnabar Moth

by Mark Johnson, on Flickr

[Harold Gough]

Mark,

Nice one.

They have been loitering in our garden for several weeks, waiting for the Ragwort flower buds to develop, as they do every year. Any day now.

Harold

[art frames]

The matt black is such a beautiful part of Cinnabar, very much like a high quality silk fabric. I've just seen a couple in the garden too.

[Harold Gough]

Stenurella melanura Black-striped Longhorn Beetle Female

I saw this one yesterday, for the first time and very briefly.

It was on a bramble (Blackberry) leaf, partly shaded by another.

I wanted to ease the stem fully into the sunshine. This could easily out it to flight so I took this insurance shot first. That was the right call because I had only touched, not moved, the supporting stem (well below the beetle) when it let go and toppled down, disappearing out of sight. It did not reappear.

I moderated the shadow digitally and I can now see enough to identify it. The records are very numerous in southern England but very sparse further north and west, restricted to some costal(ish) localities in Wales and in northwest and northeast England.

It is to be found congregated on Bramble flowers. The first few of ours are open, with hundreds to follow. So maybe I will soon find this species again.

Olympus EM-1 (aperture priority), Olympus 4/3 x2 TC, Olympus 4/3 50mm f2 macro, 1/500 at f11 ISO 800, hand-held.

Harold

[alfbranch]

It pays to that banker shot in Harold before pushing your luck. As we some subjects are very tolerant and others just don't play ball.
Well done with this one.

[Harold Gough]

Alf,

You never can predict.

Today I was doing portraits with a very tolerant Ringlet (first sighting this year).
Harold

[Harold Gough]

Strangalia maculata, a regular every year, just flew in but moved on quickly.

Harold