We’re running seriously low on readers’ photos. Just sayin’ . . . .
But today we have a nice set of insect photos (and one spider shot) by Alan Clark from Liverpool, England. His captions are indented and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them.
I have lived here nearly 40 years, but I have never seen the first three species before this summer.
Swollen-Thighed Beetle, Oedemera nobilis. Only the males have those impressive thighs.
Malachite Beetle, Malachius bipustulatus:
Varied Carpet Beetles, Anthrenus verbasci:
This photo of Painted Lady Butterflies, Vanessa cardui, on Buddleja davidii, [the butterfly bush] is a composite made from the best of over 50 photos, most of which were inevitably out of focus. I was amused by the show-off bee in the bottom right corner!
A Marmalade Hoverfly, Episyrphus balteatus. Four images were stacked together to give better depth of field.
A Green Shield Bug, Palomena prasina:
Another Hoverfly, Syrphus ribesii, with Cephalaria gigantea [the Giant Scabious]:
And finally some adorable newly hatched spiderlings on my wheelie bin, Araneus diadematus, the European Garden Spider. They are very different from the adults.
JAC: I’ve put a picture of the adults below (taken from Wikipedia): first a female, then a male:
Beautifully done! The composite of the butterflies (or a single butterfly?) is especially clever.
That same photographic trickery can also be done with birds at a feeder.
Amazing photos. I love the baby spiders and the thoughtfully added pics of the adults by PCC(E).
I wonder if the show-off bee is saying, “Oh, yeah, well, >>I<< can float like a butterfly, too…but I also sting like a…well, you know."
Wow! I’m inordinately fond of beetles, and also malachite (the mineral). So this is quite a treat.
Gorgeous photos! This is a wonderful set.