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Monthly Archives: August 2012

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Hyphydrus ovatus and lesser diving beetle Acilius sulcatus female

Some photos using my aquarium set up. One of the few species of the small dytiscid (diving) beetles you can identify without a microscope is Hyphydrus ovatus Unfortunately, like all small dytiscids, they don’t sit and pose for long, and it took my quite a while to get these photos of this 5mm long beetle.…

August 30, 20121 Commentbeetles, Essex, Freshwater invertebrates, insect, wat tyler cpBy Neil-UKWildlife

Southern migrant hawker and migrant hawker Aeshna affinis and A. mixta

Last Friday I had a go at photographing a southern migrant hawker (Aeshna affinis) that was flying around an gap between some reeds and some hawthorn. This meant I could get away with using my 100mm macro. Therefore this images are quite heavily cropped. I spotted a southern migrant hawker on Monday but didn’t get…

August 27, 20121 CommentEssex, insect, odonata, wat tyler cpBy Neil-UKWildlife

Pond skater and backswimmer feeding on ruddy darter

Even the most beautiful of insects die, and this one died on the surface of the pond. Here a number of pond skaters gathered to feed on it from above, and at least one backswimmer fed on it from below.
Pond skaters and backswimmer feeding on ruddy darter

Pond skaters and backswimmer feeding on ruddy darter 2

August 24, 2012Leave a commentUncategorizedBy Neil-UKWildlife

More Aeshna affnis with a small skipper butterfly and a slender leaved hare’s ear

At lunchtime I bumped into a couple of folks looking for the southern migrant hawker (one of who was Simon NL on Flickr, click his name to see his excellent pics). I got a couple of photos of the perched male today: Sadly with my Sigma 150-500mm rather than my 300mm prime, which I can’t…

August 14, 2012Leave a commentbutterflies, Essex, grasshopper, insect, odonata, wat tyler cpBy Neil-UKWildlife

Grayling butterfly

When in the New Forest I saw more graylings than I ever have before, especially at Hatchet Moor, with another couple near Crockford stream. They didn’t want to pose, but I managed a few shots:
grayling butterfly close up hatchet pond 2

grayling butterfly close up hatchet pond 4

grayling butterfly close up hatchet pond 3

grayling butterfly close upcrockford stream

August 12, 2012Leave a commentbutterflies, insect, New forestBy Neil-UKWildlife

Southern migrant hawker Aeshna affinis

There were a few people in Wat Tyler CP today looking for the Southern migrant hawker dragonfly. If you are unfamiliar with this species see my last post. Today I was unable to use my long lens so didn’t get any more of it in flight, but at the end of the day I got…

August 10, 20123 CommentsEssex, insect, odonata, wat tyler cpBy Neil-UKWildlife

Southern migrant hawker dragonfly at Wat Tyler Country Park

In 2010 a number of Southern migrant hawker dragonflies (Aeshna affinis) turned up at Hadleigh Country Park, a few miles East of Wat Tyler CP. They also turned up at Vange Wick (not Vange Marsh) just to the south of Wat Tyler CP, so I’ve been hoping they would turn up here. Last year, I…

August 9, 20121 CommentEssex, insect, odonata, wat tyler cpBy Neil-UKWildlife

Crockford Bridge: Southern damselfly and golden ringed dragonfly

On Sunday I visited Crockford Bridge, a stream well known for its dragon and damselflies. My target species was the southern damselfly, one of the rarest species in the UK and one I had never seen. It didn’t take me long to find one! Here is a pic of my first ever southern damselfly! They…

August 8, 2012Leave a commentinsect, New forest, odonataBy Neil-UKWildlife

Ruddy darter, wolf spider with eggs and a common lizard

A few photo from Wat Tyler CP during the recent sunny spell. First up a ruddy darter.
ruddy darter close up 2

ruddy darter 2

ruddy darter close up

This wolf spider was warming her egg cocoon in the sun.
wolf spider with eggs

And this lizard posed for a photo…
common lizard

…before playing peak-a-boo.
common lizard peak a boo

August 2, 20121 CommentEssex, insect, odonata, Reptile, wat tyler cpBy Neil-UKWildlife

A Water stick insect Ranartra linearis

I’m a bit of a pond dipper, as some regular readers will have worked out, but there is one species that has always eluded me, the water stick insect. This year I saw a preserved specimen and a captive one (which I never managed to photograph), but never before had I seen a live wild…

August 1, 2012Leave a commentEssex, Freshwater invertebrates, heteroptera, insect, wat tyler cpBy Neil-UKWildlife
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