Return to moorhen home page

Return to section index

Image-of-the-Day by Subject

Image Taken on 19 Apr 2020 at 12:25    Image of day on 08 May 2020

A Bumble Bee flying in to feed on the flower of a White Dead-nettle.


Ref: 20200508_df3_20200419_1225_014 bumble bee approaching white dead nettle(r+mb id@1024).jpg

Image Taken on 23 Jun 2009 at 16:19    Image of day on 29 Jul 2009

A stop off for a mid-flight refuelling for once taken by pressing the shutter button to override the normal computer controlled trigger.


Ref: 20090729_da1_20090623_1619_340 ft1 bumble bee feeding on clover flower head (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 01 Aug 2019 at 15:44    Image of day on 17 Sep 2019

This Bumble Bee makes a couple of 'circuits' of this ring of flowers around this teasel.


Ref: 20190917_df3_20190801_1544_034 bumble bee feeding on ring of teasel flowers(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 23 Jun 2009 at 16:18    Image of day on 29 Jul 2009

Far more bumble bees this year than we are used to, but distasterously few honey bees.


Ref: 20090729_da1_20090623_1618_325 ft1 bumble bee in flight at clover flower head (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 25 Jul 2009 at 11:15    Image of day on 29 Aug 2009

A bumble bee netted feeding on Great Willow Herb near a bramble patch - most likely the cause of the slightly tatty wing edges.


Ref: 20090829_da1_20090725_1115_079+1313_267 ft1 bumble bee in flight with great willow herb flowers (montage)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 04 Apr 2009 at 12:46    Image of day on 24 Apr 2009

Bumble bee on Blackthorn flower. There seem to have been far more bumble bees than usual this year.


Ref: 20090424_p34_20090404_1246_950 bumble bee on blackthorn flower (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 23 Apr 2013 at 10:19    Image of day on 06 Jun 2013

The warmest day so far brought out a few insects including some precious pollinators.


Ref: 20130606_df1_20130423_1019_024 bumble bee on cherry flower (crop 2)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 25 Jul 2009 at 11:20    Image of day on 29 Aug 2009

5 minutes later released on to a thistle flower it had a quick feed on that and then moved to a clump of Great Willow Herb & spent several minutes sampling the many flowers.


Ref: 20090829_db1_20090725_1120_211 bumble bee on great willow herb flower (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 15 Mar 2009 at 13:08    Image of day on 03 Apr 2009

Harbinger of Spring 1 - a bumblebee visiting the flowers - in this case pussy-willow.


Ref: 20090403_db1_20090315_1308_023 bumble bee on pussy willow flower(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 12 Jul 2006 at 16:57    Image of day on 18 Jul 2006

We have to limit thistles because they are so invasive, but allow patches to grow but stop them seeding. This bumble bee is covered in specks of pollen.


Ref: 20060718_d60_20060712_1657_666 bumble bee on thistle flower(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image of day on 05 Nov 2005

An 'inherited' 15 year old yellow Buddleia provides food for Bees, butterflies etc. well into the autumn.


Ref: 20051105_p20_1040329 bumble bee on yellow buddleia (head view) 2005nov01_12-27-20(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 11 Jun 2013 at 12:55    Image of day on 23 Jul 2013

Green Alkanet is a magnet for what bees there are. This bumble-bee spent at least several minutes crawling around the flowers. We didn't notice a second visitor until we processed the image - some sort of fly on the lower left flower.


Ref: 20130723_a77_20130611_1255_038 bumble-bee (bombus lucorum (q)) & unident fly on green alkanet flower (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 15 Jun 2013 at 12:35    Image of day on 29 Jul 2013

Green Alkanet is very attractive to many insects. This is an atypically small species of Bumble-bee without a common name, here caught hovering at a flower.


Ref: 20130729_df1_20130615_1235_047 bumble-bee (bombus pratorum (q)) hovering at green alkanet flower (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 15 Jun 2013 at 12:34    Image of day on 29 Jul 2013

Green Alkanet is very attractive to many insects. This is a largish Bumble-bee on a flower, but there isn't enough body detail for us to make a positive ID.


Ref: 20130729_df1_20130615_1234_044 bumble-bee (unident) on green alkanet(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 14 May 2022 at 14:17    Image of day on 23 Jun 2022

The first Burnet Rose this year - 2 weeks earlier than last year.
This species has an abundance of perfume you can smell from yards away.


Ref: 20220623_df3_20220514_1417_029 burnet rose hosting bumble bee (1st of 2022 - 2 weeks earlier than 2021)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 29 Sep 2023 at 16:03    Image of day on 17 Nov 2023

A glance from the SE corner at the field margin to our east show this Buzzard on (what turned out to be) a dead Rabbit from which the bird has already taken some lumps of meat. He spotted the humans and tried to take off with the prize, but it was obvious over a couple of tries that it was too heavy for the bird.


Ref: 20231117_df3_20230929_1603_079-1604_135 buzzard at dead rabbit fails trying to fly off with it 02+006+010+012 of 12 (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 29 Sep 2023 at 16:04    Image of day on 17 Nov 2023

Ref: 20231117_df3_20230929_1604_117 buzzard at dead rabbit fails trying to fly off with it 10 of 12 (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 07 May 2022 at 16:28    Image of day on 14 Jun 2022

A Red Cardinal Beetle - the first seen in 2022.


Ref: 20220614_df3_20220507_1628_280 cardinal beetle(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 15 Jun 2013 at 12:39    Image of day on 28 Jul 2013

This vivid beetle on a grass stem is probably Pyrochroa Serraticornis. Some identification books also name this as the 'Cardinal Beetle' while other books name a similar (but different) species as such.
The Antenna near us is foreshortened to a black circle but there is nothing 'wrong' with it as we can see in other less satisfying images.


Ref: 20130728_df1_20130615_1239_053 cardinal beetle variant (pyrochroa serraticornis) with left antenna hidden by foreshortening (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image of day on 28 Jul 2005

These orange beetles are common at this time of year and are usually seen in pairs like this.


Ref: 20050728_d60_03590 cardinal beetles mating on blackberry flower 2005jul09_17-38-34 (cropped)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Comments and requests for image use

To make a comment, ask for information or to request a full resolution image, send us an email including the reference or the date for the image you are interested in.

All initial contacts should be made using the icon below:-