After incorrectly identifying a flower the other day I was especially careful to research today's' specimen to avoid any embarrassment.
It is, I can confidently say a Red Gazania. Photographing red flowers is quite tricky because it can be difficult to get a true representation of the colour but I think I got this one spot on.
The second shot was a bit of a bonus as I had focused in on the centre of the flower to pick out the detail in the heart of the flower and I hadn't noticed the aphid at first but I am quite plesed that I captured the little critter, it gives a sense of scale as well as being a cool shot.
"The name's Fly, Crane Fly!"
I wasn't sure whether I would post this because I know how unpopular Daddy Long-Legs are but as unattractive and creepy as they are I think this is quite a good shot. Perhaps not as good as yesterdays' grasshopper but still pretty good.
It has a nice sheen on its back and the stained glass wings look too fragile for the task of carrying this bug through the air.
I don't have much of a garden and I can take no credit for anything that grows in it but that doesn't stop me enjoying it in any way.
The front garden is particularly small and features a number of hardy fuchsias that keep flowering year after year and a massive lavender plant that waves about in the wind and provides a feast for hundreds (if not thousands) of bees throughout the summer.
The other day I spotted this unusual wasp flying among the plants. There was another similar to this one that was flying around with a small fly clasped between its front legs. Sadly that one didn't settle anywhere long enough for me to get a clear shot but I am fairly happy with this one. I believe that it is a Digger Wasp and if you follow this link you can see a really good photo of one holding a fly just as I observed ( click here)
The spider in the second image had spun its web between two plants and was patiently waiting for a meal to come along. I am really not a fan of spiders but I cannot deny that this is a little beauty.
I'm not a fan of insects by any means but I enjoyed watching these Leaf-Cutter Ants doing what they do best, cutting leaves and carrying them back to the nest. They are quite amazing in their ability to carry such a large load relative to their body size and they worked in such a well ordered fashion. In spite of that however they're just not very pretty and so tomorrow I will post some pictures of some much more beautiful bugs...
Just one picture for today. This picture was taken at Blean Woods nature reserve just outside of Canterbury. I haven't actually seen any ladybirds this year yet so I had to dig through my archives for this one.
Having posted some pictures of bees yesterday I had a look through my folders and found these shots of bugs feeding on pollen in the gardens at Powys Castle.
These pictures were taken using the macro feature on a Tamron 70mm - 300mm lens, They were handheld and so not as sharp as I would have liked and I imagine that had I had my Canon 100mm macro lens I may have got some better shots. All the same I'm sure you will agree they're not too bad.
