Saturday, August 06, 2016

House Circuit (15) Two fine insects

Note: House Circuit posts are drawn from the many 50 metre walks I make every day around our house.


Almost at the end of one of my circuits today, there was a papery rattle and a fine migrant hawker dragonfly (Aeshna mixta) land on the hedge beside me.  It stayed there long enough for me to go indoors and get a camera.  Isn't it remarkable how well such large and colourful insects blend into the background against jumbled vegetation?


No sooner had I taken this shot when a large butterfly zoomed over my shoulder and landed on the hedge quite close to the dragonfly.  It was a silver-washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia), a woodland species that occasionally ventures into gardens in Churchland Lane, and is always a very welcome sight.  I tried to photograph it without lining up the camera properly and the below is all I managed before it took off again and sailed away over the hedge.



No comments: