Digging Deep

 I have sorted through my bug pics from last week so will be drip feeding them here over the next couple of days. Some are much better than others but I was working against the elements much of the time with strong winds and rain which made hand held macro shooting something of a challenge. The ISO on this and most of the other pics I will share was between 1250 and 5000 so I have had to do some noise reduction in the edits.

I had a couple of shots of a damsel fly resting on a nettle but to be honest I wasn't at all happy with them.

This is a Common Red Soldier beetle, it was really going to town, digging deep into the flower to get the juiciest nectar. I think it is pretty cool.

Polydrusus formosus

 

This is a green immigrant leaf weevil.  It was very difficult to photograph because it was so small and moving very quickly along the garden wall.

It is a pest really and has potential to cause damage to emerging leaves and  blossoms so not really a welcome visitor to the garden but it is quite interesting with really vibrant colouring. As you can see from the second image which is a close crop of the carapace the colouring is actually a series of very fine dotted lines (you probably have to zoom in a bit) each dot like a little green jewel.

It is hard to get a true sense of scale when these are enlarged but if you use the grains of sand in the mortar as a guide you will get some idea of how tiny this thing is.

The Devil's Coach Horse

Ok not a horse, but a beetle. I used to see these a lot as a child and always knew them as Devils Coachman beetles but it has other names too, including cock-tail beetle because of the way it raises its abdomen as you can see in these pictures.

This little critter crossed my path in Delamere forest, it was about 30mm long and with its tail raised you can see the white glands that release a stinky deterrent. 

If you zoom in you can also clearly see its mighty mandibles that are capable of giving a painful bite.

This is a serious predator that feeds at night; moths, insects and invertebrates, slugs and other slimy things make up its diet.

Some adults will survive two winter seasons by hibernating in tiny burrows.

Delicate Tendrils

I love the different shades of purple in this beautiful clematis which was also tempting for the tiny little beetle which in the first shot is climbing up one of the tendrils and then in the second shot is walking away from the centre. 

I hope you love it too.

Creeping things

Both of these pictures were taken while out with my youngest son, the lizard was in the Forest of Dean and the beetle I think was on Bickerton Hill in Cheshire.

As I was selecting today's pictures my son recalled the occasion when I was taking the photo of the lizard.  It was on a post at the side of a footpath towards Symonds Yat Rock, it was a hot day and the little critter was basking in the sun.  As we were watching it sitting there the peace was shattered by the loud voice of a large man who emerged from the bushes close by swearing and cursing at the top of his voice.  The language was very colourful and we couldn't work out who or what he was angry at.  Thankfully he marched off and left us in peace.

I like the colours of the lizard and I also love the shimmering blue of the beetle.  These images remind me that there is lots of beauty to be seen we just have to keep our eyes open.