I have had a lot of Marmalade hoverflies, Episyrphus balteatus in my garden, and they are attracted to the daylilies. Apparently they are one of the few species of fly which can chew and eat pollen, which daylilies have plenty of. I enjoy trying to photograph them in flight, but only a small fraction of photos are acceptable - these are the best of several hundred shots.
Good morning @Papi Jo is it the Stag Beetle larvae that are the wood borers, if so maybe they have taken a liking to your decking, you might have an entire colony under there.
I hope not! That deckiing is actually made of composite material, which I doubt is tasteful to those stag beetles. There must be plenty of other nicer tasting rotten wood about in my garden. Anyway, I'll keep counting them and report!
I have had a lot of Marmalade hoverflies, Episyrphus balteatus in my garden, and they are attracted to the daylilies. Apparently they are one of the few species of fly which can chew and eat pollen, which daylilies have plenty of. I enjoy trying to photograph them in flight, but only a small fraction of photos are acceptable - these are the best of several hundred shots.
I have had a lot of Marmalade hoverflies, Episyrphus balteatus in my garden, and they are attracted to the daylilies. Apparently they are one of the few species of fly which can chew and eat pollen, which daylilies have plenty of. I enjoy trying to photograph them in flight, but only a small fraction of photos are acceptable - these are the best of several hundred shots.
Wow!
Wow indeed! I admire your dedication.
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
[...] I enjoy trying to photograph them in flight, but only a small fraction of photos are acceptable - these are the best of several hundred shots.
That "small fraction" is well worth those several hundred shots. Congrats!
In the old days of 35mm colour slides, this would have meant a fair amount of film rolls.
They were shot at ISO 12,800 and 1/8000sec, and they were all cropped by various amounts, some considerably, so not really possible with film cameras. Digital technology, both hardware and software, has made photography so much more powerful.
Just been watching a good gathering of good-sized moths on the buddleja blooms by our big front window as the dusk draws in … lit by the light from the window. More than I’ve seen in quite a while 😊
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Just been watching a good gathering of good-sized moths on the buddleja blooms by our big front window as the dusk draws in … lit by the light from the window. More than I’ve seen in quite a while 😊
I went to my parents' place today and there was one butterfly on the buddleja even though they were all in full bloom. I was a bit worried since the predictions for butterfly populations this year have been dire because of the drought last year. I went down to the meadow though and I don't think I've ever seen more butterflies in one place. I think in the end I recorded 10 species of butterfly, lots of skippers and at least 6 species of moth. The whole field was buzzing with noise from grasshoppers and crickets too. Even driving home I saw tons of butterflies along the hedges.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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I have a dream that my.. children.. one day.. will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character
Martin Luther KingWow indeed! I admire your dedication.
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.