Bright Beasties, Vivid Wildflowers

 Aside from the hummingbird hawk moth, my most interesting visitor to my garden buddleia has been the absolute unit that is the hornet mimic hoverfly. 

A gold black and yellow chunk, they are either impossible to photograph, or happy to sit there scoffing away while you get the shots. These, like the hummies, are a recently arrived species that are steadily moving north with the warming climate. 

Even as we hit the autumnal equinox, there's still plenty of colour and life out there on the warmer days, and with ivy coming into flower, the ivy cellophane bees have appeared with their gleaming gold hoops on the abdomen and manic nature. My sister found a colony of them on a client's lawn, and they were an incredible sight. 

Plenty of eristialis family drone flies are also around, and also honey bees and a few bumblebees too. Butterfly-wise, red admirals and painted ladies are still around. Small tortoieshells however have had a terrible year, I've seen maybe a couple flutter by in passing. 

I hope you are all finding plenty of things to take joy in. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 22.09.26

Hummingbirdie, Hornety Creature, and Other Finds

 The buddleia in my flint stone postage stamp garden that I cut back to two feet high back in April, has rather predictably grown back to jungle proportions. But along with this, it's lilac flowers have been attracting some rather special guests. 

Chief among these is a hummingbird hawk moth. I like to think of it as being the same moth each time, a moth that enjoys my company and the floral spread I have laid on for it, but these moths have been so common in the UK this summer, there could have been different ones. 

I've also had hornet mimic hoverflies, equally spectacular creatures and the largest of our hoverfly species in the UK. And among the usual honey bees, drone flies and bumbles, I've even had the occasional ivy cellophane bee drop in, presumably wondering why the heck I don't have any actual ivy here. 

I'll probably throw in some non-garden shots, because hey, why not? 

Si 

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 10.09.26 

Look at this Super Chonker!

 Cricket got rained off today after only three overs, so nothing of note to report there, other than the player's laughter laughing at my emergency poncho I rode home in. So instead, let us take a look at the walk to the park I had on Saturday, and what I found on the way.

At the island in the river, I went to have a look at a raggedy buddleia that was growing through a fence. And upon one of the flower heads, I found the mightiest beast in the hoverfly world, the hornet mimic hoverly. 

Normally these big beasties are, like most of their kin, very twitchy about being photographed, but it was a cool day and this one was obviously getting stuck into the nectar to make sure it had enough energy to flit about. Thus, it was co-operative about having its picture taken although the breezy conditions made it rather tricky and I only got two usable photos. 

Still, two was enough.

Later on, I was walking to the cricket ground to watch the first team, and in a garden came across what I can only describe as a giant thistle tree, and the bumblebees were really loving it. 

Pleased to have had some decent nature encounters this weekend. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 08.08.21