white tailed bee

what would we do without knapweed. This handsome chap-ess is the white tailed bumblebee, bombus lucorum. It is common, but we have never noticed white tailed bumblebees before.

8 August:- now that we have had a closer look, most of the bees around here have white tails, which shows how unobservant we are. The bee above is particularly striking.

blue butterflies at last

these are the first blue butterflies we have seen this year. Both are common blues, the top is the female. The sun has brought them out, but the heavy constant rain of the last 6 weeks seems to have had a very bad effect on numbers locally.

Greenscombe meadows

at the top is a local rarity, Cornish bladderseed, an umbellifer so named for the shape of the seeds as seen at the top left, and beneath is a photo of the brilliant red berries of Guelder rose before the birds take all the berries.

volucella pellucens is no bee

This fly has very distinctive brown compound eyes, and a black bottom, and at first I thought it was some sort of bumblebee, but thanks to G images and my excellent Illustrated Book of Insects I am fairly sure it is a male of the largest British hoverfly species, volucella. Below a small copper making a belated appearance this year

a pair of peacocks

so similar, but not identical, two peacocks feeding on knapweed and enjoying the sun this morning.

the Flower Show 4

and some folks just couldn't care less who wins, not our sort of poodles, too small for me, could be shaggy rabbits or Yorkies or something