Neuroptera

This is the Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea), which I discovered in my garden the other day. They are good at devouring greenfly, so can be one of the gardener's best buddies. It belongs to the order mentioned in the title 'Neuroptera' - which contains the 'net-winged insects' such as lacewings, antlions and mantidflies. One...

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Cereal Leaf Beetle Oulema sp.

x3 images. I found this little critter lounging on the edge of a plant pot. Double click if you wanna get closer... Rear garden. October 2019 © Pete Hillman.

Arrival of The Daddy Longlegs

Of x2 images. Yep, it is that time of the year you will find these large flies attracted to the house lights, and before you know it you will have these gangly flying insects bouncing manically off your kitchen or bathroom ceilings and walls as you either try to swat them or catch them. I...

A Little Red On Black

This is a new species for me in the garden. It is the Pine Ladybird (Exochomus quadripustulatus). It is quite small between 3 to 4mm long. It has a distinct rim around the base of the wingcases. Although it is mainly found where Pine grows, it also likes Hawthorn which I happen to have in...

Small Black And White

There was a bunch of these tiny critters hanging around on a wall out the front. September 2019 © Pete Hillman.

Blending In

I discovered this Hairy Shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum) on my Water Mint this morning. Feel free to click the image to enlarge and click again to get even closer … September 2019 © Pete Hillman.

Coming To Rest

I love seeing these Comma (Polygonia c-album) butterflies in the garden, and occasionally they briefly settle for a moment or two. September 2019 © Pete Hillman.

Black & White

It appears it has been quite a good year here for butterflies, which is really good news. This Large White (Pieris brassicae) made a fleeting visit to my garden before fluttering off over the fence to elsewhere. These 'Whites' can be quite a challenge to photograph, especially in bright sunshine. Auto camera setting never seem...

Playing Hide & Seek

This Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax) was quite comical to observe, because it really was quite a shy fly. It was basking on a leaf near my pond, and as I neared it instead of flying off like they do most of the time it crawled behind the leaf and peered out at me. When I...