A wonderful copper and dark brown coloured butterfly, with distinctive 'raggedy' wing margins. They love feeding on the copious numbers of ivy flowers growing on my fence. The name comes from the comma shaped pale mark on the underside of the wing.
Monday 19 July 2010
Scarlet Tiger Moth (Callimorpha dominula)
This moth is quite large and unmistakable. There are similarities to the Cream Spot Tiger Moth (Arctia villica), but the thorax doesn't have white edges and the hind wings are red not orange. I often find them dozing the day away on the ivy which covers the fence down one side of the garden.
Green Orb Spider (Araniella curcurbitina) Female
One of the more colourful and distinctive spiders found native in the UK. A gorgeous lime green abdomen with yellow/green body and legs, and a red patch around the spinnerets. They are pretty small and well camouflaged on leaves.
Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus)
Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus), originally uploaded by Pipsissiwa.
Identification via mountainashe (Ashley Wood) from Wild Things / Chinery / McGavin.
The garden is buzzing loudly with the mating calls of these gorgeous, architectural insects. You walk over the grass and loads leap out of the way. Awesome.
Saturday 17 July 2010
Beetle (Lagria hirta)
I've seen several of these beetles in the garden this year. Never seen them before, so I was quite excited! This is a male as it is relatively long and narrow, females are wider. It has lovely golden wingcases which are distinctly furry, and long, black, many-sectioned antennae. It was also a capable flier.
Carder Bee ( Anthidium Sp.)
This year I have a whole mob of these beautiful, chilled out bees enjoying my Stachys (Lambs Ears) flowers. They are there, without fail, every day. I've been privileged enough to watch them eat, bask and even mate. Haven't yet seen any harvesting fluff for their nests, sadly, as I did last year.
Wednesday 14 July 2010
Thick Legged Flower Beetle (Oedemera nobilis) Female
The female of this gorgeous iridescent green beetle does not have the 'thick-legs' for which the species is named. Only the male shows these thickened femoral sections on the rear pair of legs. The beetles in my garden can always be found messily eating pollen on hardy geraniums and bindweed. They fly, although when you see them doing so they look very ungainly.
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