What is buzzing or flying near you today??

Emerald Damselfly (lestes sponsa) ..... ID by walnut



[ 24. August 2007, 12:38 PM: Message edited by: Kedi-Gato ]

 

brilliant pics everyone

Sorry I can't help with the id KG :confused:

 

Verbena bonariensis is butterfly magnet. The late brood of painted Ladies have just turned into butterflies. The hordes of them in the garden were all in perfect condition and looking spanking brand new.
I understand that this brood might hibernate over winter.

In the next photo you can see one sticking its long tongue down in to the flower to drink the nectar.

 

Kedi inchworms are the caterpillars of family of moths Geometridae some 1200 species so i'm not sure which one it is, they are unmistakeable in that they have 3 pairs of legs at the front and 2or3 pairs at the back sometimes called looper caterpillars.
Dragonfly- Common Darter.
Spider- Garden Spider recognisable with the white crosson its back.
Damsel fly - Emerald Damselfly (lestes sponsa)
Geoff the butterfly is a small totoiseshell yes they do hibernate as butterflys they feed off nettles.

 

Geoff - beautiful butterfly and fantastic shot!

walnut - thanks for the info and I've edited to include it again.

 

walnut yes you are right. I think my brain was somewhere else when i posted them cause I had checked the id in my book just to make sure they were small tortoiseshells. I think I must have been thinking of the one that got away while i was typing it. The small tortoiseshell is the prettier one of course!

 

This was taken while we were on holiday last week. The bug landed on Hubby's sweater and was difficult to get a clear picture of as it kept moving around quite fast and Hubby kept insisting that I remove it immediately. I was equally insistant on first trying to get a pic of it.

Shield Bug ... (Picromerus bidens) ... ID by walnut



[ 02. September 2007, 01:09 PM: Message edited by: Kedi-Gato ]

 

It must be some sort of mating season for critters K-G. There was a huge cricket on Mr K's shoulder the other day when he was watching TV (no camera available of course) and later a lizard crawled over his foot.

Today we went blackberry picking and I just took this for Walnut to identify.

 

Hi Keddi it's a Shield bug Picromerus bidens it has found some use as a biological control against the European Pine Moth.
Kryssy flies area hard one as there are millions of species the easy bit it's of the order Diptera and looks like a March Fly (Bibionidae)they appear in marchand stay around until October my best guess.

 

Thanks for the ID walnut, have edited it in.

Krissy, doesn't it make you want to scream when you don't have the camera at hand! Good shot of the fly on the thistle.

 

Absolutely Kedi-G. I looked at the cricket for a while and honestly thought it was artificial then realised I was having a senior moment and that it was real. Mr K scooped it up and put it out in the garden before I could think of the camera.

It has been quite a nice day today and the insects have been out to play so I was able to get some nice photos for a change.




Triplets




Bee(n) Feast ...




Coming to get you - I was so pleased to get the wings...




ID from Walnut please - sorry to be so thick !!





Another butterfly




I have left the top plums to fall for the birds and insects and it is like Happy Hour all day long - I could get this one's tongue as he wasn't leaving for anyone...

 

Trio of Peacocks, (inachis io)
Dark green fritillary, (argynnis jurtina)
Red admiral, (vanessa atalanta)
Meadow brown (female) (maniola jurtina)

 

Excellent shots kryssy, it sure was your lucky day!

I love the group ones, your whatsit plant is the main attraction (mine is just now starting to open) and the last one is brilliant.

 

Thank you Walnut yet again. I think my favourite was the Dark Green Fritillary (although it didn't have any green on it). I was sure you were going to say it was a tiger something or other. When it was on the marigolds it almost disappeared. Mr K said I should get a book and look them up but if I did then I wouldn't get to talk to you all - so nerr to him !!

My whatsit plant - K.G. - is what I call Ice Plant. When I was a nipper we were moved from our slums in East London to council flats which had balconies and in-built window boxes. My father filled those window boxes with Ice Plants so that he could see all the butterflies and bees come along and feast. I suppose it was his way of getting the country into the inner city. It certainly worked for me way back then.

 

The green occurs on the body Kryssy although it would have made more sense to call it a "spotty orange wing fritillary" or as kids we called any butterfly that wasn't a cabbage white a "frenchy" they came in different forms light ones dark ones spotty ones etc.