an evening seascape

an evening beach walk on the South Devon coast with stunning skies as the sun went down...

dad

there's always a clown...

and here she is ...

me and Frankie

August assortment

Red Admiral

Small Tortoiseshell

 Robin's Pincushion Gall- Diplolepis rosae -it consists of many chambers each with a single gall wasp grub

this could be any one of a dozen moths...

Speckled Wood

for the colour alone one of my favourites.Order Diptera, Greenbottle,Lucilia caesar

 Order Diptera, Sericomyia silentis

worth blowing up to get a better view..

ladybirds who lunch

the lady bird is named after 'Our Lady's Bird' as Mary, 'Our Lady'  was often depicted wearing a red cloak in early paintings, and the 7 spots of the most common ladybird were said to symbolise her 7 joys and 7 sorrows....

there are four stages to the ladybird's lifecycle-the egg,larva, pupa (chrysalis) and adult. The larva passes through 4 instars (sheds it's skin 4 times) over a period of 3-4 weeks before becoming a pupa. This rather ugly specimen is around the 3rd instar. 

  


a pupa (2 weeks)

ladybirds are bright yellow on emerging from the pupa and over the next few hours their wing casing hardens and the colour pattern develops
















                     a newly emerged ladybird with the wing casing beginning to harden



A Gold-Ringed Dragonfly







Gold- Ringed Dragonfly Cordulegaster boltoni

coming across this magnificent and striking insect more than made up for the tedious 6 hour drive to Devon the day before. It was unfazed by me or the camera and perched quite happily. I was enthralled by it's huge forest green eyes. This dragonfly breeds in running water but will often hunt in sunny lanes far from water.

a writhing mass of Small Eggar caterpillars

order Hymenoptera, an Ichneumon,although I haven't decided which species yet (some assistance please mum)

a somewhat ragged Large White

another Gatekeeper

one of my favourites to date although the picture doesn't quite do justice to it's shimmering bronze colour.  Order Hemiptera; Forest Bug, Pentatoma rufipes

a Brown of some sort,possibly a Large Heath

probably a Garden Tiger caterpillar,often referred to as the woolly bear

a post dedicated to ladybirds is on it's way...!