Summertime at The Lodge

Painted Lady

Speckled Bush Cricket

Male Emperor

female Emperor, hovering to find somewhere to lay her eggs

Holly Blue

Gatekeeper

Wasps

Marmalade Hoverfly

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Summertime

Painted Lady - a smart UK-hatched butterfly (not a scruffy migrant)


Emperor dragonfly laying eggs


Gatekeeper on Ragwort


I bought a window feeder for the office. When a flock is passing through, there's a constant stream of Great, Blue and Coal Tits coming for sunflower seeds. They seem to peer in at me before flying off with food


photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

After the rain

Flagstones shining with rain


Gatekeeper hiding in the flowerbed (this one had a crinkled hindwing - presumably something happened while it was metamorphosing)


The ladybirds I've seen this year have mostly been native Seven-spots!


This Common Darter hadn't long emerged when it was grounded by the shower
photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Summer colours

Red Admiral

Bumblebee

Water Mint and Purple Loosestrife

Peacock

Bee on Marigold

One of those Volucella hoverflies which seem to be in fashion these days

Gatekeeper

Waterlilies

Small Red-eyed Damselflies

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D + EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Butterflies and moth

With the hot weather this weekend, I haven't been in the mood for much more than lounging around in the garden. It's been great. Butterflies have gathered in numbers on our 10-feet high Buddleia bush:

Peacock

Brimstone

Large White

Small Tortoiseshell

Gatekeeper

Meadow Brown

Large Skipper

Peacock and Comma

And then this creature turned up:

Hummingbird Hawkmoth!
I've been growing Valerian in preparation for attracting 'Hummers' but this one found the Buddleia perfectly adequate. It did some funny things: feeding happily one second, then whizzing off at rooftop-height over the wheat field, before appearing back on the flowers again within a few seconds

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D + EF 300mm f/4L IS USM or Canon Powershot A640

Gardens

Gatekeeper, my first of the year (sorry, I'm slow)

Lift-off for a bumblebee

Blue-tailed Damselfly

Emperor ovipositing

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Bugs and stuff

Common Darter

Gatekeeper head-on

shield bug nymph

Lilies

photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995

Summer Leys LNR

Six-spot Burnet moth




Gatekeeper


Common Blue Damselfly


Blue-tailed Damselfly


Can't identify this skipper (butterfly) - need to look on the undersides of its antennae to decide whether it's a Small or an Essex!


Green-veined White


Tree Sparrow, part of the long-standing colony at this site

photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995