Sunday, June 15, 2008

long horned beetle


Spot thinks this is a long horned beetle, but we are not sure which one. We have decided it is the variable longhorn as that covers all bases.

tipula maxima


This is the largest of British crane flies. It is supposed to be common but I have never seen one before, and it is very big. It looks amazingly complex and reminds me of an apache helicopter.

water figwort




the flower of water figwort. Water figwort is a tall, handsome figwort found in wet marshy places. It has much more vivid flowers than common figwort, and very square, angular stems.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

valerian



valerian is appearing everywhere. It has a strange burnt rubber smell and attracts a wide range of flies and other insects. I think this is a horse fly of some sort

woundwort



a strange little homunculus caught appearing in some hedge woundwort. It reminds me of the fairy photographs that entranced Arthur Conan Doyle.

Friday, June 13, 2008

tamar valley


the upper part of the Tamar estuary, St Dominic to the right