Garden critters

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Rachael

Bee fly again

As the deadline for my dissertation inexorably draws nearer, and with school holidays approaching even faster, I am having to put photography on the back burner, again. But it is bug season! Not fair! I can’t ignore all that gorgeous mini-beast action in my garden completely. So here are a few shots grabbed in illicit moments away from my studies.

Capsid bug

These capsid bugs normally hang out on oak trees. Luckily, my neighbour has a whopper of an oak tree so we get a lot of extra bug action. Oak trees rock.

Really very tiny anonymous fly

This fly is so small I can’t make out the detail until I grab a macro shot and view it at native resolution on my desktop. It’s too small even for my insect field guide, so I can offer no ID. Do step up if you know what it is!

What am I?

This might be a moth. It too is very small, but rather cute, in my opinion.

I have a few more shots to share but I am going to have to be strict with myself about spending time on-line for the next few weeks. So sorry if I don’t manage to visit your site for a while. But, come September, there will be no stopping me!

Defying gravity

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Rachael

On Tuesday, I waxed eloquent, well enthusiastic at least, about my new toy, the Fuji X-E1, but there is one thing it can’t do: decent macros of the very smallest critters in my garden. There my DSLR and macro lens rule supreme. This is an immature capsid bug showing off its gravity defying skills on a lavender leaf.

The return of Specky

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Rachael

Last summer Focused Moments was speckled with posts featuring the speckled bush crickets (leptophyes punctatissima) in my garden. With our very late spring here I hadn’t seen any until this weekend. But never fear, they are back! Here an early instar stares me down from between two new camellia leaves.

Some of last year’s specky posts are here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Gorgeous greenfly

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Rachael

Well, I know it is a little unkind to my gardening friends but I had to share this picture of a greenfly and its progeny. Purely in the interests of enjoying their colour against the tulip, of course. Come on, admit it, the babies are just a tiny bit cute?

Damselfly embrace

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Rachael

Finally, some Summer weather. The damselflies made the most of it – there were several pairs of these red damselflies mating in my garden yesterday.

Rosemary beetle

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Rachael

A shot from last year of a rosemary beetle. These relatively recent arrivals in the UK may be pretty but they wreak havoc in the garden, especially the herb border. One shouldn’t anthropomorphise but I can’t help interpreting this one’s expression as more belligerent than guilty. Perhaps it is thinking of Princess Anne’s famous riposte:

You are a pest, by the very nature of that camera in your hand.

Spring life in the garden

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Rachael

A selection of bug macros taken this spring in my garden.

Fairy lanterns

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Rachael

Now that I have noticed these moss spore capsules, I can’t seem to stop snapping them. Once again, getting really close courtesy of my 100mm macro lens with Raynox 250 attached.

Bee fly returns

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Rachael

I love this time for year for many things, including the crab apple blossom that attracts a rather nice little seasonal character, bombylius major, the bee-fly. I am perhaps slightly ridiculously fond of this little furry fly. I did a post about it this time last year and you can see more images of it there. These are three new ones, snapped in my garden this afternoon.

There’s just something about its little round, furry body, and the way it hovers… well, I am a ‘bug lady’ after all.

Come on admit it, it is cute.

More mossy explorations

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Rachael

Moss spore capsules

Last month I celebrated a brief sunny interlude by exploring the abundant crop of moss growing where my lawn used to be. Well, we have had some more sun this week so here are some more mossy explorations.

A bug’s eye view

I was particularly taken with these colourful spore capsules. I was used to seeing the spiky sort before but this was the first time I had noticed these alien-looking alternatives.

All about colour

I used my macro lens with Raynox DCR-250 attached to get very close indeed to these tiny plants. Here, the colourful background is my out of focus recycled garden trug.

Can you spot the explorer?

The above shot isn’t very special but I included it because there is a tiny explorer getting in on the act. Apparently, recent studies have shown that springtails play an important part in moss fertilisation by carrying scent from plant to plant. Who knew?

Misty moss

The difficulty with using such extreme magnifications is that depth of field is wafer thin. I decided to make the most of the difficulty in this last image, for a more minimal, suggestive take.

If you missed my earlier moss extravaganza, see here.

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