Come On...

Prior comments on goggle's rationality were overstated.

😞

Backward Birding is again on hiatus.

😠

[Hey, idiots, you're making Musk look reasonable...]

I'm Back. Uh-oh...

Moths have been few and far between, and mostly of less than a half dozen species so far this year.

Not good.

I'm hoping it's been the cold nights, but we shall see.

Here's a nice one, for me noctuids are a treat;

White-line Dart

Dark Arches

Two in a week or so? Woo.

 

 

Brown Silver-line

Common on t'Moor, very rare down here.

Some of the more expected;

Buff Ermine

Dark Tussock

Mullein Wave

Plain Pug

[poorly-named]

Box Tree Moth

[slayer of non-native hedging]

Something, possibly, new, now.

Possibly

Isle of Wight Wave

Also?

 

Compare with,

Dwarf Cream Wave

Note DCW lacks the rufous leading edge and has a more rounded forewing and dots inside the trailing edges of both wings.

If IoWW, then they're over from the continent as, as the name suggests, they only [might] breed on Wight.

If.

Anyways, that's enough for now.

I do have some nice pictures [of butterflies] and awful pictures [of everything else] to come, with something maybe like a proper update coming directly.

And more moths.

Heh heh heh...

Be Seeing You...

Service Notice

Due to goggle being arseholes, this blog is on hiatus.

When they stop demanding access to my computer - for the privilege of giving them my art* for them to train their [and anyone else's who'll pay] AIs on - I'll be back.

Don't be too worried, last time it took two whole days for them to give up. The time before, a couple of weeks, so we shall see.

In better news, this is sparing you a moth post  [[Oh, stop cheering]]

I have been seawatching a bit, seen the odd good thing. Missed a few good things too, I suspect...

Anyways, until they give up, I shall

Be Seeing You...

[[* Yes, photos are art. ** ]]

[[** If a set of dirty bedclothes are, my blobs are. 😛*** ]]

[[*** Ok, nobody's offered me a million quid for one of mine - even my really good ones of beetles and things - but it's the principle that counts.]]

We're Going On A Bug Hunt. Pt.1, Chasing Phantoms

In which I headed over to the East Devon Commons to perform my annual pilgrimage in search of the Blessèd Silver-studded Blue [having failed awfully the weekend before.. Ahem]

Reader, I had a mare.

Lots of Horseflies found me, and it was running combat at times [me running, that is..], but my Pet Spot, where I've found SSB for many many years.. Drew a blank.

Bugger.

So I headed out to try to find somewhere else. Somewhere a small, low-flying, oft-resting, elusive and always scarce butterfly might be found.

It was hard yards, and in heat and humidity, too. Of course.

I did find the SSB's tag team partner - again with difficulty, as people seem to think that dragonfly pools on nature reserves are the right place to encourage big fat Brown Labs to jump in [FFS] - and this is the thumbnail;

Small Red Damselfly

Not very photogenic, perhaps, but shot at a tricky angle through a lot of vegetation [as oh yes, DWT seem to be allowing their favourite pool to vegetate over...]

Small Red Damselfly is not a big flashy obvious insect. They tend to stay low and sit around a lot. But if you take the time to find the things look carefully, you'll see they're quite lovely.

At this point, I was going to stick a load of 'all the other stuff' up and keep you waiting until the end - which is what I had to do, after all - but instead we'll get to the fun bit.

You are walking along a track on a heath. You need to keep eyes up for passing birds, eyes about for other birds, eyes down and to the side for the butterflies you are after, and eyes behind you for that HorseflyAAARGH...  You also need to watch where you're walking, and even more carefully for the twenty feet you are about to walk, in case there's something there you're about to flush.

So, can you see what I saw?

Snapshot.

I have learned the very very hard way to shoot as soon as physically possible. You might get something awful, but that beats nothing by an infinite margin.

Oh, what I could have gloated ab   the sights I have seen what I might have shown you..

Ahem.

Getting back to the point;

I then circled very slowly and carefully right to get an angle for a better picture.

 

It flew. Right as I was squeezing the BLEEPing shutter, it flew.

I followed.

Another snapshot.

Bit better.

You can see it now, I hope.

Hit the zoom, boy.

Silver-studded Blue

It flew again, I followed again, and never mind the Brambles and Gorse.

I just couldn't get an angle;

 

"Oh, you little blue

sod, you..."

 

 

..and then it was up and gone gone gone.

Still, it saved the day. Yes, lovely SRD, and yes, this wasn't bad either

The stuff of battleships'

nightmares.

😁

But I mentioned a lot of other photos, didn't I?

Large Skippers in numbers, at least.

Green Hairstreak, either side of the light. Annoyingly mobile, but worth it.

Cinnabar Moth!

Worth kneeling on a Bramble for.

[Knees heal, photos are forever!]

Keeled Skimmer

Remember I said about looking up?

Here's a reason why.

Sprawk!

And to look down?

Time for wasps!

Darwin Wasp sp.

Digger wasp sp.

Different Digger sp.

Digger sp.1; m and f

Bees!

 Flower Bee

 

Yellow-face Bee sp.

[not all have yellow faces] 

 

Grey-tailed Furrow Bee

So tiny! So cute!

 

[So hard to keep up with, she was all over this Heather, as you can perhaps tell]

At least I can ID with confidence.

[[Comment saying "Oh no you can't.." in 3, 2,...]]

Flies!

[Flies?]

Things that fly.

[::Whistles innocently::]

Hot, frequently frustrating, but there were moments. Oh, there were moments.

Be Seeing You...

We're Going On A Bug Hunt. Pt.2, That's More Like It!

Much bigger, sexier butterflies were prime target this time around, and oh my did I find some?

Boom!

Pow!

Splat!

Almost as wide as my grin.

Glare. I don't care.

Love the hair 😀

The eyes, the eyes.

That'll be a 'yes, just a couple', then.

So I got a few half-decent White Admiral shots. At least three individuals, there.

And...

[And?]

[And!]

Brimstone

Only the second time a Brimstone has properly posed for me, and this time I didn't have to wade through knee-deep Brambles to get the angle.!

Ringlet

Best Ringlet shot ever.

Unexpectedly, odonata pretty much stole the show. Well, sort of.

Big hawkers don't sit and pose, usually. Very rarely, anyways. GRD aside, at least.

So...

Emperor!

Eating what I choose to believe was the Horsefly that had been determinedly pestering me, then just stopped.

This is what dragons are for!

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

Gorgeous. Will pose. I love them.

Have another!

One GRD, nice. Two is a good day.

Emperor's don't stop. Kind of famous for it.

But having lunch?

Very good day.

Then..

ID this dragon, if you will.

Have a prettier angle;

Southern Hawker.

Immature male.

Though not too far off.

June was a little early for SH.

What's this?

Southern Hawker.

Female

Wowzer.

I once met an immature SH on my way into Smallhangar. I got a half-decent photo, and this was on film..

 

It's been a few years.

 

 

 

Purple Hairstreak had been reported in the area. I had to look.

 

 

The Oaks were alive with winged things, indeed;

 

 

Dozens and dozens of Beautiful Demoiselles. I've never seen so many in one place.

Couldn't find a hairstreak, though.

Some nice bees and hoverflies also.

But oh, those Admirals.

Be Seeing You...