Thursday, October 1, 2020

A few more insects before they all disappear with winter approaching.

  Maximum temperature here today 17⁰C, minimum 12⁰C.  10 mm of rain measured this morning from overnight.   20km/h South-westerly winds with gusts up to 49 km/h.  

I walked a couple of kms down the road to get this sunset.  The sky looked promising and I decided to try and get it from a different position to where I normally stand.  The walk was well worth it.  Nigel said, "now if only you had a silhouette of a giraffe it could easily be Africa".

Weaver's Fritillary (Boloria dia)...

As above...

As above

Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina).

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas).

Web Spinning Triangulate Combfoot (Steatoda triangulosa).

Green shield bug - Adult  (Palomena prasina).  See the nymph of this bug in the last blog.

Too many moths, (to me), look similar to this so I am not going to try with an ID.

Giant House Spider (Eratigena atrica).

Western conifer seed bug (Leptoglossus-occidentalis)

As above.

Autumn daffodil/crocus (Sternbergia lutea).

Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa violacea or  Xylocopa valga) on a cosmos flower...

As above.

Social wasp (Vespula germanica).

Comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album).

Speckled Wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria).

Common Wall Lizard - adult (Podarcis Muralis)...

This little fellow was only about 7cm (3 inches) long.

N.B.
I am often asked what lens I use for my photos.  I do not have a macro lens and all above photos are taken using a TAMRON Megazoom - 18-400 mm on my Nikon D3500 camera. I have a Nikon fitting, but they also make a Canon fitting as well.


My local list of wildflowers. (90 Species 23/08/2020).

See also my


Joining up with My Corner of the World.


Photo competition running until 31 December - colourful photos.

t

Let us all join in great fun.

49 comments:

  1. Hello,

    Wonderful variety of insects, flowers and a gorgeous sunset. My favorites are the lizards and all the butterflies. Take care, have a great day!

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    1. Thanks Eileen for the comment always appreciated. Hope all is well, have a good week Diane

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  2. So many spectacular photos! Enjoyed looking at them all. The sunset reminds me of the ones I used to see in Nevada when I lived there, with the colors overwhelming the sky.

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    1. Thanks Yvonne for the comment much appreciated. This was my favourite sunset since living her I think. Take care Diane

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  3. Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos.
    I especially liked the 2nd one, the butterfly was spectacular.
    I also loved the crocus with its intense and beautiful yellow color.

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    1. Many thanks Maria, I agree that was a very special butterfly and a first for me. We have almost a carpet of those yellow crocus at present they are beautiful. Stay safe Diane

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  4. Love the insect shots. Most of out butterflies are gone now. We saw one today while we were cycling. The lizard is fascinating. Lots of insects around for it to try.

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    1. We only have a few odd butterflies flitting around though I have seen them before in October. The lizards will also disappear very soon, it always a delight to see the first ones come out of hibernation in spring. Keep well Diane

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  5. The sunset image is supberb.

    Bernhard

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    1. Thanks Bernhard, certainly one of my favourite shots. Have a great weekend Diane

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  6. What great bugs! I love taking pictures of bugs. The other day I was hiking with some friends and these green bugs kept jumping in front of us. Since I was in the lead I didn't want to stop and hold up the hike so I told everyone to pass me. Of course now with everyone else ahead of me, the bugs would fly away before I could see them. But after awhile there was enough distance between us the bugs returned and I got a lovely picture of a bright green bug!

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    1. Bugs are always interesting and some are very pretty. Thanks so much for the comment, much appreciated. Have a great weekend Diane

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  7. Bautiful photos as always. The sunset is breathtaking and nigel is right about the giraffe.

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    1. Hi Diane hope that all is well over there and good to hear from you. Certainly this is one of my favourite sunsets ever. Take care and stay safe t'other Diane

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  8. Gosh I would never have guessed you took these with a long lens Diane, handheld or tripod? We used to get the big house spiders in Africa also, quite often you would see them out of the corner of the eye running across the carpet 😁 I thought the spiders in Africa were bad, they're even worse here in Perth 😉 Happy weekend to you both ✨

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    1. Hi Grace all hand held have you ever tried chasing an insect around with a tripod? The spiders that we used to get in Africa are around the same size, but the ones here are much slower than the African ones. Your weekend is almost over now so have a happy week. Diane

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  9. Dear Diane,

    it is no problem if you link to a blog post and say, picture #3 is for the competition. And don't forget to set a link in you blog post to my quarterly competition :-)

    Have a nice weekend too!

    Bernhard

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    1. I have done both Bernhard so hope I have correctly added links in both places.
      I hope I can find some more entries before the end of December. Diane

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  10. LOVE that BEAUTIFUL sunset....just BEAUTIFUL. And it is good to see you bad at shooting the critters.

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    1. Hi Pam, yes I am very happy with that sunset, one of my best. Still lots of bugs around but not for much longer with the change of weather. Keep well Diane

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  11. WOW! Incredible photography!

    The sunset shot is breathtaking!

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    1. Thanks Veronica, a photo that I am particularly happy with :-) Keep well Diane

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  12. Admirable las fotos de los insectos y sobretodo la de la puesta de sol.

    Feliz fin de Semana

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    1. Gracias por el comentario. Apreciado.
      Buena semana, Diane

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  13. Gracias por tu visita y comentario en mi blog.
    Me acabo de hacer seguidora de tu blog.

    🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️⚘⚘

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  14. Fabulous macros, always love what you take. All those little critters have been given a personality thanks to your photos :)

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    1. Thanks Denise, sadly with winter approaching the bugs will soon be in short supply! Keep well Diane

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  15. Stunning sunset. Great critters shots. Have a beautiful weekend.

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    1. Thanks Nancy, sorry I am a bit slow on replies!! Keep well Diane

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  16. Such an amazing variety of creatures! I had no idea there were so many different kinds of each one! I have to say the sunset is pretty spectacular :)

    It's great to see you at 'My Corner of the World' this week!! Thanks for linking up.

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    1. Thanks Betty and thanks for hosting. Keep safe Diane

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  17. Replies
    1. Thank you Pam. Hope all is well with you, Diane

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  18. Great pics, Diane! And I love cosmos plants, so delicate and pretty! We had a frost this morning so colder weather is on the way. Have a good week, take care!

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    1. Many thanks Pam, I also love cosmos. They remind me of Africa where they grow in their millions down the sides of the roads in summer. Nor frost here yet but........ Keep well and stay safe Diane

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  19. Dear Diane,

    thank you for joining my quarterly competition. Your choosen pictures sunset is really colorfull. I have added your post as #3 in my competition list.

    Best regards
    Bernhard

    P.S.: Sorry for the delay, but we have been on a trip last weekend

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  20. Sorry for the late visit, Diane - Lindsay and I have been away on the Isles of Scilly. We didn't have the best of weather, and we lost a day due to no-fly weather conditions, but it was great to have a change of scenery!

    That sunset was well worth the walk - fabulous!

    I'm so pleased that you are delighting us with this super selection of insect captures, and those lizards round off the post nicely - it makes me quite jealous!

    My very best wishes to you and Nigel (I'm surprised that you didn't follow his suggestion and photoshop a silhouette of a giraffe in there) - take great care - - - Richard

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    1. Hi Richard sorry that you did not have good weather. I was very happy with that sunset, guess I could still try the giraffe trick 🦒 LOL. The insects are disappearing now it is getting colder but a glimmer of sun and a few appear.

      I do love 'our' lizards I miss them in winter.

      Take care and please stay safe, the bug is on the war path again it seems!! Diane

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  21. What a fabulous sunset, Diane! Yes, it could be Africa! Brilliant photo!
    Thank you for sharing also your beautiful photos of insects. You know I am in love with butterflies, bees and lizards! Great flowers too. Hugs, my friend.

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    1. Thanks you Mia for the kind comment,always appreciated. Keep well Diane

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  22. Fantastic sunset and I agree with Nigel's comment. The flower and insect photos are beautiful and crisp. Thanks for letting us know about your lens. I was going to ask.

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    1. Hi Penny, yes, you would of course know about African sunsets, they take a lot of beating.

      Love this lens, it seems to manage far, close and reasonably wide. Saves a lot of hassle with continually changing lenses.

      Take care Diane

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  23. Replies
    1. Thanks very much Linda for the visit and the comment. Stay safe Diane

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  24. Wowsers. That first shot is absolutely stunning!

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    1. One of my very best sunset photos I think, so typical of South African ones. Cheers Diane

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  25. Hi Diane - Nigel was certainly right with his thought re your beautiful sunset photo. Love seeing the insects ... always good to jog our memories about the multitude of invertebrates around. I've just read Linnaeus: The Complete Naturalist by Wilfrid Blunt (excellent author and artist), elder brother of Anthony Blunt - the spy. It's a really good read ... I did a review for our History group and could send it to you - if either of you are interested ... take care and cheers Hilary - just off for my flu jab!

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    1. Hi Hilary. I have actually played around with that sunset and added a couple of giraffe but I don't want to blog it.
      I have just looked up the reviews on Amazon 43% 5* and 43% 1* so it is a very mixed review. It is only in hardback and we just do not read hardbacks anymore. It is too difficult to get them in France and with postage the price just soars. I will keep an eye open though if I should see it. Thanks for mentioning it.
      The flu vaccines have not arrived here yet think they are here next week sometime.
      Cheers Diane

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