Hi, and thanks for the reply. At the moment, we're just keeping our fingers crossed that the damned ash keeps clear, and that the unrest in Greece doesn't cause problems with air-traffic controllers and the like! We paid a brief visit to the island a few years ago (a day trip from Crete) in Septembe...

Hi everyone. Volcanos permitting, we fly off to the Greek Island of Santorini in just over a week. I've been doing a bit of Googling, but can find absolutely nothing to give any clue as to what, if any, kinds of Butterflies there might be to see. Anyone here been?

Amazed to se a brimstone zip through our garden this afternoon! Never seen one round here before.

Clouded Yellow? Brimstone, more likely?

Been out to Roche Abbey near Rotherham this afternoon. LOTS of Peacocks, Commas and Torts, but also, my 1st Orange Tips of this year. Impossible to photograph though, as they never seem to land.I guess finding a mate is more urgent than finding food!

AT LAST!!! Finally, I had an hour or so strolling round some open ground, armed with my camera,this afternoon, and can officially report that Spring has arrived in South Yorkshire! Nothing like the numbers and variety reported by you Southerners, but several Small Torts (or perhaps just one, very ac...

Don't you just hate it when the mowers get to work? I've mentioned this before, but there's a meadow behind our house which, for the 1st couple of years after I moved here, was left unmolested and was great for butterfly photography- including the Orange Tip in my avatar. But it's been mowed short f...

You're right, of course, but it's still frustrating! Spring's REALLY late here, though it's a lovely day today. Not even our Daffodils are flowering yet (though they are flowering in other places around the city) and no sign of Black Thorn blossom, which should be everywhere by now.

I'm sooo envious of all you southern types!! Spotted my 1st butterfly of the year today, the 1st half-decent day of the year! A Small Tort flashed through our garden about noon, but it's all I've seen so far. Can't believe people saying they see 10 Brimstones in a morning- I've not seen that many in...

Bit of a late comer to this thread, but thought I'd contribute anyway!! We had a weekend break in Bristol last weekend, and spent much of Sunday (17th) at the zoo. Given the foul nature of the weather of the previous couple of days, I was amazed to see a Red Admiral basking on a tree trunk. http://i...

My favourite insects, after butterfles, are dragon flies, and there were vast numbers of them to be seen, in both Alberta and B.C. http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g29/55bloke/dfIMG_3488.jpg http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g29/55bloke/IMG_3489.jpg http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g29/55bloke/dfI...

You're very welcome, it's my pleasure! Glad you enjoyed. For those who're interested, here's some of the other "bugs" I photographed! Whilst we were in B.C., we were constantly aware of a loud, "crick, crick, crick" call coming from the medows. Investigation revealed it to be bei...

Now, some moths. This 1st one is a day flying species we saw commonly in Alberta http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g29/55bloke/IMG_3508.jpg All the rest were photographed at a Lodge in The Rockies, in British Columbia, where we spent 4 days. The outside lights were left on all night, and I was aston...

The commonest butterfles, by a LONG way, were various species of skipper Of the skippers, the Tawney Edged was the least abundant, and the largest http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g29/55bloke/sIMG_3412.jpg These tiny, metalic looking skippers were frequent visitors to garden flowers. I struggle to ...

As I mentioned above, we spent a couple of weeks in Canada in July, during which I was able to do a bit "bug photography." I was intending to start a separate thread for the photos but, having mentioned it in this one, I may as well just post them here. I will start with the Sulphur Butter...

Some fascinating replies here. And thanks for the confirmation on the Dingy Skipper (never seen one before) and the Knapweed dave.

There really is no secret- just need lots of patience!! An understanding of behaviour, and close observation of habits helps a lot, but in the end it really is just a matter of patience!! For every good shot, there will be hundreds where the subjuct "just fies away," often long before you ...

eccles wrote:Definitely getting the hang of it. A couple there are worthy of entry in the monthly UKB competition.

Thank you, appreciate your comment.

Don't know why, but those pics are cropped far more severely than they were when I posted them? How does that happen? Deapth of field is still an issue, but I'm very pleased with the way the camer's built-in flash works with the lens.

In an earlier thread (Am I doing something wrong?) I mentioned how disapointed I was with the 3 diopter close-up lens I'd bought for my Canon S51S. Well, having taken on board the replies I got in that thread, I've been persevering, and I think I'm getting the hang of it!! http://i52.photobucket.com...