Wildlife pictures

[daveO]

On a walk this weekend I noticed a group of flies/moths flitting around an oak sapling. I thought they were St Mark's flies but looking closer they had massively long antennae. I only had a telephoto lens so this was the best ID pic I could take, trying to get one with the whiskers highlighted in the sun. I think it's some kind of Fairy Moth.

 

[brancho]

On a walk this weekend I noticed a group of flies/moths flitting around an oak sapling. I thought they were St Mark's flies but looking closer they had massively long antennae. I only had a telephoto lens so this was the best ID pic I could take, trying to get one with the whiskers highlighted in the sun. I think it's some kind of Fairy Moth.

Looks like a Longhorn Moth possibly a Green Longhorn or similiar I am no expert

http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=896

 

[brancho]

This remained still for some time but was hard to get a good shot due a leaf being in front of it.


empis-stercorea by Alf Branch, on Flickr


This looked like a discarded meal when I first saw it then I realised they were mating and only saw the prey in the females legs when viewing them on the computer


empis-stercorea-mating-and-eating by Alf Branch, on Flickr


My first harvestman of the year


Harvetman by Alf Branch, on Flickr

 

[Harvestman]

Great stuff as usual Alf. Knocks my stuff into the shade. I agree with pretty much all your identifications, except to add that the first harvestman of the year is almost always Platybunus (formerly Rilaena) triangularis, and yours certainly looks like one.

 

[brancho]

Great stuff as usual Alf. Knocks my stuff into the shade. I agree with pretty much all your identifications, except to add that the first harvestman of the year is almost always Platybunus (formerly Rilaena) triangularis, and yours certainly looks like one.

Thanks Mike
The ID is good for me

 

[brancho]

Here are some shots of the ants I discovered living in my house wall today.


They had found a decent sized meal and were trying to move in to the nest but seemed to have different ideas how that would happen.


Ants-and-a-meal-2 by Alf Branch, on Flickr


Ants-and-a-meal by Alf Branch, on Flickr




Unforunately for them there days are numbered as they moved into my house.

 

[brancho]

Here are 3 of the Zebra jumping spiders that I found on my house wall today. The sun finally made an apearance and the temperature rocketed to 15 deg C


A portrait of a lady


Female-Salticus-scenicus by Alf Branch, on Flickr


Not the best angle on junior


Juvenile-Salticus-scenicus by Alf Branch, on Flickr


A male portrait


Male-Salticus-scenicus by Alf Branch, on Flickr

 

[brancho]

Here are some recent shots



This was on the house wall I think it is a hairy spider weevil


Weevil by Alf Branch, on Flickr


I found this spider on my garden gate I think its a walnut orb weaver



Walnut Orb Weaver - Nuctenea Umbratica by Alf Branch, on Flickr


Yet another insect feeding on laurel hedge



Feeding-fly by Alf Branch, on Flickr


Imagine having a meal this big this little catterpilar is on a gooseberry bush leaf


A-big-meal by Alf Branch, on Flickr

 

[Harvestman]

Nice work Alf.

Here's some of mine

Painted Lady

An obligatory water vole

Err, this isn't a water vole, although it was eating tthe apple put out for the vole.

Diving beetle larva. I want to say this is of the rare King diving beetle but I can't prove it. It was much bigger than the usual diving beetle larvae though.

A leech

A wolf spider

 

[brancho]

Nice Mike
did you tell the water he should brush his teeth.

 

[brancho]

Here are some shots from yesterday


A coupele of small wasps that an ID on would be nice


Wasp by Alf Branch, on Flickr


Wasp-2 by Alf Branch, on Flickr


A red mason bee that has been exploring the holes in my house wall. There were two of them around at the same time but I only got a shot of this one. They are tricky things to get a shot of. The hole it had just been in was covered in old spider silk.


Red-mason-bee by Alf Branch, on Flickr

 

[Harvestman]

Beautiful shots. Not a clue on the ID for bees and wasps.

 

[brancho]

Beautiful shots. Not a clue on the ID for bees and wasps.

Its not easy for sure especially with the little parasitic wasps like these

 

[brancho]

Here are the results of a bug safari I went on yesterday. I found a few things. There was enough breeze to make some of these difficult.


1. Yellow dung fly


Yellow-dung-fly by Alf Branch, on Flickr


2 A spider waiting for breakfast to arrive


Spider-at-home by Alf Branch, on Flickr


3. Male scorpion fly panorpa comunis


Male-scorpion-fly-panorpa-comunis by Alf Branch, on Flickr


4 Empis Stercorea


Empis-Stercorea by Alf Branch, on Flickr


5 Drinker caterpiller


Drinker-caterpiller by Alf Branch, on Flickr


6 Downlooker snip fly


Downlooker-snipe-fly by Alf Branch, on Flickr


Any ID's that are incorrect please feel free to point out.

 

[brancho]

7 A dolly fly


Dolly-fly by Alf Branch, on Flickr


8 A soldier beetle from the day before


Soldier-beetle by Alf Branch, on Flickr


9 TheDownlooker snipe fly was not too interested in my and started to have a drink.


Downlooker-snipe-fly-2 by Alf Branch, on Flickr

 

[brancho]

A couple more from me

The eyes of a downlloker snipe fly

Downlooker by Alf Branch, on Flickr

A hover fly

Hover-fly by Alf Branch, on Flickr

 

[Yorkshirewanderer]

Not as good quality camera as some of you guys but surprised it let me get so close

 

[Harvestman]

Nice one Monkeypoker. Better than any of mine of this species.

 

[Harvestman]

One or two from today

Scarlet tiger

A hoverfly, Sericomyia silentis.

 

[brancho]

Nice shots Mike

Here is a shot of a leaf cutter bee I took a couple of weeks ago the day I went away on Holiday. It is a newly hatched bee I suspect from last years nesting inthis part of my house wall

Leafcutter-bee by Alf Branch, on Flickr