After bemoaning the lack of small tortoiseshells, I was obviously pleased when one turned up on Tuesday.
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| Small Tortoiseshell |
I didn't say so earlier but I did have a slight notion that the chances would be better at the end of summer and they have been appearing regularly since. Today there were three in the garden on two occasions - so the famine is over if not exactly a feast.
Butterfly appearances have generally hit the high spot over the last week. Some while ago I decided not to repeatedly take photos of the same species. It would be nice to capture several together but so far they've been too widely spread on the buddleia. I reckon the most frequent visitors have been red admiral and painted lady, the latter perhaps preferring to wait for the sun to warm up - unlike the single red admiral that turned up during the solar eclipse.
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| Red Admiral and Painted Lady |
A holly blue was also seen again today.
Away from butterflies, I encountered a minor rarity earlier this week in the form of this hornet hoverfly.
These can grow up to two inches long and the photo doesn't do justice to the size.
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| Hornet Hoverfly |
I thought it was too yellow for a bee on seeing it from a distance but it was fairly easy to work out it was a fly. Fortunately I haven't seen any hornets.
One bee did catch my interest today but I think it is probably just a dark buff-tailed bumblebee queen. Note the gingery tail band.
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| Buff-tailed Bumblebee Queen |
For some reason, it made me reflect that I haven't recorded any garden bumblebees this year, perhaps dismissing them as buff-tailed. I shall keep a more careful lookout - if it's not too late.
