France in Focus

Syrphe pyrastre (type of hoverfly)

That is spectacular, thanks.

Blaze wrote: ↑Sun Aug 22, 2021 4:16 pm Syrphe pyrastre (type of hoverfly)

Syrphe pyrastre (Scaeva pyrastri).JPG

What an amazing photo. I'm sure you must have a superb camera and know how to use it.

Superb picture [mention]Blaze[/mention] full of beautiful colour, it's wonderful thank you for posting.

Absolutely @Blaze and wonderful focus. Thanks for posting.

Thank you for the kind words !
A lot of insects are so small you would hardly even notice them with the naked eye. I use a 300mm fixed lens so that I don't have to get too close (I have huge difficulty getting good shots with a macro lens which would give much more detail) and a tripod. I planted a couple of areas with various flower seeds earlier this year and the flowers have attracted all sorts of insects, which was the aim.

Here's an example of how easy it is to miss a very small insect : I didn't even notice the spider until I put the photos onto my computer :
The spider is a Thomise enflée / Thomisus onustus / crab spider

Be aware processional caterpillars are about,
making their nests.
Yesterday cut the grass around our black pine tree and looking up saw three nests starting, first in a few years, cut them off and burnt then on the woodburner.
Have seen reports that there are loads about this year.

Fortunately Processionary Moth caterpillars aren't abundant in this area.
But here is another pest, the Knot Grass moth. I give all hairy caterpillars a wide berth because many cause skin irritations though the PM caterpillar is possibly the worst.

Doug wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 3:28 pm Be aware processional caterpillars are about,
making their nests.
Yesterday cut the grass around our black pine tree and looking up saw three nests starting, first in a few years, cut them off and burnt then on the woodburner.
Have seen reports that there are loads about this year.

Thanks for the warning, not seen any for a few years, but will have a careful check next month when we come down to hopefully finalise our sale.