Image-of-the-Day by Subject

Image-of-the-Day by Subject

Insects (assorted) Page 21

Image Taken on 17 Jul 2011 at 16:17 Image of day on 31 Aug 2011

Concentrating on the intended subject it is easy to overlook what else is going on. The photo being taken was of the Small Copper Butterfly but we only later noticed also the grasshopper (below the butterfly's Proboscis) and 5 Red Soldier Beetles, 1 under the butterfly on the right, and 4 more in the next flower along, one pair mating as usual.

Ref: 20110831_df1_20110717_1617_111 small copper butterfly on thistle + grasshopper + 5 common red soldier beetles (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 18 Jul 2013 at 18:04 Image of day on 04 Sep 2013

Sharing a thistle flower for a moment, this pair of mating Soldier Beetles are joined for a few seconds by a Small Skipper Butterfly collecting supper.

Ref: 20130904_df1_20130718_1804_042 small skipper butterfly & mating pair of soldier beetles on thistle flower (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 08 Jul 2014 at 16:10 Image of day on 13 Sep 2014

This year we have a good number of Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies. Here one is feeding on a thistle flower, surrounded by 3 Red Soldier Beetles. While checking our IDs, we found the Beetles described as the 'Hogweed Bonking Beetle' - a name very appropriate to how we often see them!

Ref: 20140913_df2_20140708_1610_129 small tortoiseshell butterfly + 3 red soldier beetles on thistle heads (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 02 Aug 2026 at 16:13 Image of day on 28 Sep 2026

This Ragwort plant seems to have escaped the ravages of Cinnabar caterpillars, and here a Small White Butterfly takes some nectar while a Ladybird climbs up a leaf

Ref: 20260928_r52_20260802_1613_012 small white butterfly feeding on ragwort flower + incidental ladybird(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 15 Aug 2019 at 16:08 Image of day on 07 Oct 2019

This days particular juicy foods attracts an assortment of insects.

Ref: 20191007_d36_20190815_1608_008_fb4 speckled wood butterfly + flies + wasps on freshly baited tree-stump(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 28 Sep 2024 at 13:13 Image of day on 11 Nov 2024

A late is season Speckled Wood Butterfly perched on a Blackberry leaf that has been the food source for some sort of caterpillars.

Ref: 20241111_d72_20240928_1313_099 speckled wood butterfly perched on caterpillar damaged blackberry leaf(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 05 Oct 2013 at 10:47 Image of day on 04 Dec 2013

This spider has this Cranefly caught in its 'invisible' web at the edge of a pond. We never really could get a good angle but this should give you an idea. The Cranefly has the long body and the much smaller spider is attacking the cranefly's head end.

Ref: 20131204_a77_20131005_1047_039 spider attacking cranefly caught in its (invisible) web (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 26 Jul 2025 at 12:39 Image of day on 16 Sep 2025

A spider in the conservatory has a 7-spot Ladybird caught in their web, and secures the hapless insect before drinking it's fluids and then cutting the husk free to crop to the ground.

Ref: 20250916_d72_20250726_1239_013 spider wrapping ladybird inside conservatory on window(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 05 Sep 2025 at 10:20 Image of day on 26 Oct 2025

Against the outside of the conservatory window this spider has captured a wasp in their web, and is now wrapping up their prize.

Ref: 20251026_d72_20250905_1020_053 spider wrapping up wasp caught in web (crop 2)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 02 Jun 2023 at 13:00 Image of day on 28 Jul 2023

Illustrating the damage Spindle Ermine Moths do, here is a silky bagful of soon to leave caterpillar along with half a leaf completely stripped.

Ref: 20230728_d72_20230602_1300_028 spindle ermine moth caterpillar infestation (id only)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 02 Jun 2023 at 13:00 Image of day on 28 Jul 2023

The Spindle Ermine Moth infestation this year is not as bad as last year (we estimate about 30% of last years) , but some of the trees are very badly smothered.

Ref: 20230728_d72_20230602_1300_024 spindle ermine moth caterpillar infests whole tree (crop with insert)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 28 May 2022 at 09:05 Image of day on 03 Jul 2022

Continuing the story of the Ermine Moth caterpillars: a walk down a 20 metre long path found our way blocked by about 20 silk threads hanging from a Spindle Tree about 4 metres above. Clinging to the thread were hundreds of caterpillars we have to believe to be Spindle Ermine Moths. Much harder to photograph than to see, here is an attempt to catch the hanging wall of threads.

Ref: 20220703_df3_20220528_0905_131 spindle ermine moth caterpillars (yponomeata cagnagella) cling to metres long 20 silk threads on spindle tree 1 of 4 (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 28 May 2022 at 09:06 Image of day on 03 Jul 2022

Looking up we see the same nets of silk we saw in the hedge, but this time several metres up in the Spindle tree.

Ref: 20220703_df3_20220528_0906_142 spindle ermine moth caterpillars (yponomeata cagnagella) cling to metres long 20 silk threads on spindle tree 3 of 4 (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 27 May 2022 at 12:41 Image of day on 08 Jul 2022

Here a dozen Spindle Ermine Caterpillars seem to arrived at the 'End of their tether' - quite literally.

Ref: 20220708_df3_20220527_1241_062 spindle ermine moth caterpillars clumped at end of vertical silk thread(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 18 May 2023 at 10:40 Image of day on 02 Jul 2023

First seen 4 days earlier (14 May 2023) as a single infested stem of a Spindle tree, we now see that this years infestation of Spindle Ermine Moth caterpillars has moved to several Spindle trees and the sunny side of the south hedge. The Caterpillars appear identical to last years.

Ref: 20230702_df3_20230518_1040_012 spindle ermine moth caterpillars infesting a few metres of south face of south hedge (crop + insert)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 30 May 2022 at 07:08 Image of day on 03 Jul 2022

2 days later only a few of the threads used by the Spindle Ermine Moth Caterpillars remain. Here a camera flash makes them clearer.

Ref: 20220703_d72_20220530_0708_050 spindle ermine moth caterpillars on hanging silk threads(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 30 May 2022 at 07:08 Image of day on 03 Jul 2022

This is the clump of Spindle Ermine Moth caterpillars in the middle of the above image, but photographed with flash from the other side.

Ref: 20220703_d72_20220530_0708_051 spindle ermine moth caterpillars on hanging silk threads(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 07 Jun 2022 at 08:44 Image of day on 08 Jul 2022

The mass showing this year of Spindle Ermine Moth caterpillar has effected every one of our Spindle Trees - we haven't counted, but we planted 25 about thirty years ago and most of them 'took'. Damage varies from perhaps 30% loss of foliage to about 10 of the trees stripped completely bare of leaves.

Ref: 20220708_df3_20220607_0844_020 spindle ermine moth caterpillars wrapped in spindle leaves(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 30 Mar 2021 at 10:13 Image of day on 28 Apr 2021

We have been seeing 7-spot Ladybirds intermittently for some weeks now, But on this sunny day they were out in numbers. This one is on some unidentified thorny bush of the trackside hedge.

Ref: 20210428_df3_20210330_1013_030 7 spot ladybird(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 09 Apr 2020 at 15:14 Image of day on 02 May 2020

Several sightings of these 7-Spot Ladybirds so far this year - more than for the occasional invasive (if now inevitable) Harlequin Ladybird.

Ref: 20200502_df3_20200409_1514_001 7 spot ladybird (1st of 2020)(r+mb id@576).jpg

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