03/08/2020 A few photos mostly from the garden

Maximum temperature here today 23⁰C, minimum 13⁰C, by the weekend we will be back up to 38C again, the garden is struggling! A light shower that did not register in the rain gauge.  15km/h North-Westerly winds with gusts up to 44 km/h.

The first cosmos of 2020  (Cosmos bipinnatus) of this year.

A slightly bedraggled Common swallowtail butterfly (Papilio machon)...

As above

The Clouded Yellow brimstone (Colias croceus)....

As above.

Small Pincertail dragonfly (Onychogomphus forcipatus).

Garden Spider (Eriovixia laglaizei) I watched it for some time.  It had caught a hummingbird hawk-moth which it duly wrapped up well in its web.  It then cut the surrounding attachments leaving it at the top, and it the carried it up into its larder in the top of the greenhouse - fascinating....

As above.

As above.

Gatekeeper butterfly (Pyronia tithonus).

 Common swallowtail butterfly (Papilio machon)....

As above.

Small white butterfly (Pieris rapae).

Thirsty bees taking a drink.

Bumble bee (Bombus....)

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria).

Genus Lithobiusa member of Stone Centipedes Order Lithobiomorpha

Latticed Heath Moth (Chiasmia clathrate).

As above

Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis Muralis).

A poppy seed head,

Pumpkin flower pollinators.

My local list of wildflowers. (89 Species 20/07/2020).

See also my

 Bird blog

More insects from May and June Part 3

Maximum temperature here today 17⁰C, minimum 10⁰C. Rain measured this morning 5 mm. 27km/h South-Westerly winds with gusts up to 62 km/h.

Small white butterfly (Pieris rapae).

Possibly a spotted fritillary (Melitaea didyma), I did not get to see the underside of its wings.

Damselfly Beautiful demoiselle (Calopteryx Virgo) female.

As above, male.

Common Clubtail Dragonfly (Gomphus vulgatissimus).

Red-and-black Froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata).

Bee on the cotoneaster.

Common green bottle fly (Lucilia sericata).

Bee on a Californian poppy.

Bumble bee, possibly (Bombus terrestris).

Red admiral butterfly (Vanessa Atlanta).

Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae). They are very colourful if only it had opened its wings!

Carpenter bee  (Xylocopa violacea or Xylocopa valga).

Marbled White (Melanargia galathea)...

As above...

As above

Bombylius species...

as above.

Red-brown Longhorn Beetle (Stictoleptura rubra) both males...

As above.

My thanks to Richard once again for ID of the damsels and dragon. 

My local list of wild flowers. (67 Species 12/06/2020)

See also my

 Bird blog

31/05/2020 Lots of insects........Part 1

Maximum temperature here today 27⁰C, minimum 14⁰C.  Dry.  16km/h South-Easterly wind with gusts up to 37 km/h. 

I walked yesterday but with 25C in the shade, I only managed 6.2 km, the last loop I had planned was abandoned!

Hoverfly possibly (Episyrphus balteatus) on a Californian poppy.

Nine spot Ladybird.

Bees on the cotoneaster.

Hoverfly not the same as one above!...

In France there are around 530 different species of Hoverfly that are known to be present, this is probably (Syrphus ribesii).

As above.

Spotted Craneflies I think - (Nephrotoma appendiculata).

House centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata).

Possibly one of the stag beetles.

Bee on the blackberry blossom.

Ants on Common Vetch.

Black-veined white butterfly (Aporia crataegi).

Red admiral butterfly (vanessa atalanta).

Beautiful demoiselle (Calopteryx Virgo) female.

As above male.

As above female.

A pair of River skaters (Aquarius najas).

Common clubtail dragonfly, (Gomphus vulgatissimus).

Not an insect but seen on the walk - Probably (Pelophylax lessonae).

My thanks to Richard for ID of some of the difficult (for me) insects.  If you have not visited his blog I highly recommend it.  Any mistakes on ID are very much my own as I sometimes think I know better than to ask!!!

Our local list of wild flowers

See also my

 Bird blog