I took it with a Canon MP-E 65 lens with a 2 x extender on a Canon R7 Pete. 13 individual shots focus-stacked (and heavily-cropped). You could probably photograph a micro moth with the lens at its minimum magnification Guy, but nothing any bigger.

Spotted a Comma egg on a stinging nettle in the garden before the rain started this morning. Only after taking a macro shot of it did I realise how speckled the surface is.

A male Chequered Skipper viewed head-on, showing the "all-orange" underside of the antennae - compared to the "half-black, half-orange" underside of the antenna of a female - (see inset). NB: The colour difference can ONLY be seen from directly underneath. Photos taken at the Eng...

Heads up for a Grand Surprise guys... There seems to have been a potential influx of Camberwell Beauty - three seen in Cambs/Essex this month already!... Oh, and another Queen of Spain Fritillary!

I was watching some female Adonis Blues (and possibly late Chalkhill Blues) laying eggs on Therfield Heath yesterday. As well as the odd egg on Horseshoe Vetch, I saw quite a few other eggs of exactly the same size and shape on Salad Burnet and Mouse-Ear Hawkweed... Are either species of Blue known ...

Looks like a fairly early instar Pale Tussock moth caterpillar

Hi Steve,
Your butterfly is a female Silver-Washed Fritillary - lovely!

Thanks Pete - long time no see! :wink: It was extremely helpful to have your brilliant book to tell me how long each of the various stages would likely last. I only saw the caterpillar a few times (I should have taken more photos), but could easily tell which instar I was looking at and know that th...

Thanks Pauline.
I'm extremely impressed by your diary photos of the various life-stages... especially the hatching of pupa and eggs... you must spend ages waiting for the first signs of emergence

I suppose you'd call it "semi-wild" now... I saw the adult lay the egg right on the edge of a very busy footpath and felt it's chances of survival were next to zero there, so I thought I'd see if I could get it through myself... I only tried with that one egg and wasn't really expecting to...

How about Udea lutealis (Pale Straw Pearl)?

Woo-hoo! Even more exciting than "football coming home" at the weekend, I discovered that the slow-growing Grizzled Skipper caterpillar I've been fostering since it was an egg had finally decided to pupate :D The second photo shows a close-up of an eye and a black thoracic spiracle through...

Yes... and at least 2 Continental Swallowtails (CAMBS and Essex) and a Long-Tailed Blue (Thames) within the last week or so.
Maybe a month early, but Camberwell Beauty anyone?

Frosted Green moth caterpillar (Polyploca ridens)

Large Skipper and Drinker Moth caterpillar Charles...
PS: Lots of Small Blue out at Trumpington Meadows in Cambridge today - They have exploded in number this year after being discovered there about 4 years ago.

Hi Zigzag...
Your caterpillars are early instar Emperor moth caterpillars... They start off black with a little yellow/red on them and only get their green and black jerseys once they get into secondary school

Hi Gang, A pretty weird question I know, but is it known if final instar Purple Hairstreak larvae typically walk all the way along the branches and down the trunk of Oaks when ready to pupate, or just drop off from their final eating place? Energy-wise, it would seem a good idea to do the latter and...

Definitely Agrimony... I've never seen Dukes laying on that before

It's a Pale Tussock moth larva David.
There seem to be loads around at the moment getting ready to pupate.

It's a Buff Ermine moth caterpillar - Spilosoma luteum