These are fantastic as usual, Marcin... do you take 'em as you find 'em, or do you do a bit of rearranging to improve composition?

a cracker, Denise!

Dave Mac wrote:Bu**er, I've just noticed the rotten spelling in my first post. Obviously Its not only in insect IDs where I need educating !

"Obviously, it's not only in insect IDs that I need educating!"

My first thought was keeled, but I agree it's a black tailed

Chris

I thought Lime-Specked Pug too!! But didn't say anything cos not overly confident... I just had a quick trawl of the UK Moths website

i'd say it was a Painted Lady!

I love the colours and composition of the tortoiseshell pic, Dave! It must be a fresh one, cos that blue border is pristine. Nice behavioural shots of the large white too. If I had to offer criticism I'd suggest you take more care focusing on the eye of the butterfly when side on, and that you keep ...

It's a horsefly of the genus tabanus... possibly tabanus bovius, the cow-horsefly

Dave I'd say a hornet has raided a bumble bee nest for the grubs, decapitating all the bees that attacked it in the process.... but where you are in NI there are no hornets are there? So must be a wasp as Annie suggested. In the "Life in the Undergrowth" series there was footage of 6 or 7 ...

I bet he's looking quite tatty now!

Brimstone are reported to regularly exceed a year old in the wild and are in fact the longest lived butterfly in the world (or the Monarch depending on what you read)

I'll be heading there either Sat or Sun morning, Pete... I'll keep you posted with sightings! I find with Scotch Argus that you're either too early and see none or too late, and there are only tatty individuals left!! Saw my first Yorkshire Purple Hairstreak of the year last night on a row of oaks I...

Congrats Denise, sidwemn & JKT... and well done Gary on your critique and your photo! Thats one of the best Marbled white pics I've seen... deserved better, i'm sure!

Thanks Both... we are actually staying in the mountains and we've hired a car, so I'll remain optimistic. As Roger says, as long as there's sun, who cares!!

Hello,

I'll be going to Corsica (nr Calvi) in the 3rd week of August and was wondering what sort of things i should be looking for, and if there are any well known sites to visit?

Many thanks in advance!

Chris

Did the North York moors circuit today, stopping off at Maze Park in Middlesbrough, Fen Bog on the Whitby to Pickering Rd and finally Ellerburn bank in the Danby forest. Saw Grayling, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Small Heath, Small Pearl bordered Fritillary, Dark Green Fritillary, Common Blue, Small Skipp...

I had a Painted Lady trying to get in to the house through a window today IAC in North Yorkshire, so they're on their way north! Last year, my gf and I were walking to the pub and witnessed a "drop" of Painted Ladies in the village... there must have been 50-60 of them roosting in one tree...

Gruditch PS I'm no expert. He is an expert... you only have to look through the competition entries to see that! I have the same kit as Gary, a 40D with 150mm Sigma and am smitten with it. When I upgraded from a compact to a 300D dSLR, I used a 70-210 with extension rings and the increase in qualit...

I have a good book on the subject... it would seem to suggest:

Common Blue Damselfly (transitional female drab form!)
Banded Demoiselle (female)
Banded Demoiselle (female - demonstrating the irridescence of their reflective bodies)

This webpage http://www.whatsthiscaterpillar.co.uk/plates.htm sorts caterpillars by foodplant... plate 7 shows the commoner species known to feed on Elm.... of which one is Mottled Beauty, and that seems to match your photo... http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=48

Cool! Looks as though it has 6 wings... could have been a hormonal malfunction in the pupae...

Great day at Arnside Knott today, despite the thunder-storms! In fact, the DGF took pity on me and continued to fly through much of the downpour. I'm not the most persistent of counters so I can't give numbers, but there were dozens of DGF and the odd HBF, Small Pearl bordered still flying, Brown Ar...