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Image-of-the-Day by Subject

Image Taken on 05 Aug 2016 at 13:17    Image of day on 25 Sep 2016

A Holly Blue Butterfly feasting on a Blackberry flower


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Image Taken on 06 Aug 2022 at 14:42    Image of day on 20 Sep 2022

A female Holly Blue butterfly feeding on late blackberry flowers. This is a new emergent - they have two broods a year.


Ref: 20220920_d72_20220806_1442_065 holly blue butterfly female 2nd brood on blackberry flower(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 06 Aug 2022 at 16:26    Image of day on 20 Sep 2022

This single female 'haunted' the side of the garage for 3 days. Here she catches the shadow of an adjacent unopened head of blackberry flowers to make an interesting pattern.


Ref: 20220920_d72_20220806_1626_089 holly blue butterfly female 2nd brood on blackberry flower with shadow of buds on wing(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 15 Jun 2016 at 11:09    Image of day on 30 Jul 2016

The Holly Blue Butterfly flew up into the adjacent Oak tree to sun itself, surprisingly well camouflaged - we saw it land and still had trouble finding it.


Ref: 20160730_df3_20160615_1109_022 holly blue butterfly female in oak leaves(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 09 Aug 2015 at 12:52    Image of day on 10 Oct 2015

A Holly Blue butterfly in a ramshackle bit of hedge. The inset shows the insect fluttering - the only time we could see the top of the wing beyond the edges. Only an occasional visitor here - once or twice some years, not at all others


Ref: 20151010_df3_20150809_1252_021+1251_012 holly blue butterfly on hawthorn leaf + insert in flight showing top of wing (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 14 Jul 2006 at 12:37    Image of day on 29 Jul 2006

The blackberry flower supplies pollen for the bee and nectar for both.


Ref: 20060729_d10_20060714_1237_854 honey bee and gatekeeper butterfly on blackberry flower(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 14 Apr 2006 at 14:02    Image of day on 23 Apr 2006

This Blackthorn tree was 'humming' with dozens of Honey bees - such a relief after having very few bees last year. This bee was caught in flight - the wings are moving so fast they have blurred into nothing.


Ref: 20060423_d10_20060414_1402_205 honey bee flying to blackthorn flower (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 23 Apr 2013 at 10:21    Image of day on 06 Jun 2013

The warmest day so far brought out a few insects including some precious pollinators. This Honey bee spent only a few seconds around the cherry flowers before 'vanishing'.


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Image Taken on 14 Apr 2006 at 14:02    Image of day on 24 Apr 2006

Yesterday's bee after it landed.


Ref: 20060424_d10_20060414_1402_209 honey bee on blackthorn flower (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 08 Mar 2014 at 15:43    Image of day on 17 Apr 2014

We are glad to see at least a few Honey Bees enjoying the first blossoms.


Ref: 20140417_df2_20140308_1543_060 honey bee on cherry flower (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 16 Jul 2017 at 10:00    Image of day on 31 Aug 2017

A Hornet Hoverfly - undoubtedly Harmless but impressively large for a Hoverfly at about 20mm (nearly an inch) long.


Ref: 20170831_df3_20170716_1000_012 hornet hoverfly (volucella zonaria) on blackberry leaf(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image of day on 16 Feb 2006

Rather taken with the markings on this horse chestnut twig.


Ref: 20060216_p20_1040712 horse chestnut bark twig pattern 2006feb05_12-31-04(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 09 Nov 2006 at 10:30    Image of day on 14 Nov 2006

The horse chestnuts have mostly shed their leaves. With the optimism of nature here are the buds for next year, not yet with the sticky sheen.


Ref: 20061114_p34_20061109_1030_075 natural horse chestnut bud 6 seq (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 17 Oct 2007 at 10:40    Image of day on 17 Nov 2007

'Next years' horse chestnut bud drenched after a night with 62mm of rain in 24Hrs. The water drop was murky, unlike the ones for 14 Mar 2007 and 28 Dec 2006 (see the archive).


Ref: 20071117_p34_20071017_1040_482 natural horse chestnut bud 6 seq (detail with murky raindrop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 18 May 2008 at 09:01    Image of day on 27 May 2008

You see these by the thousand on flowering horse chestnut, but have you ever looked at the detailed mix of colours and forms?


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Image Taken on 20 Dec 2006 at 12:13    Image of day on 08 Jan 2007

More hoar frost, this time on Horse chestnut buds we photograph every few days.


Ref: 20070108_p34_20061220_1213_737 frosted horse chestnut buds(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 04 May 2025 at 08:34    Image of day on 16 Jun 2025

A solitary small Horse Chestnut candle shows the delicate colour details of this gloriously complex structure


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Image Taken on 27 Apr 2025 at 15:56    Image of day on 05 Jun 2025

A single large Horse Chestnut candle behind the Duck Pond offers itself for photos.
As usual the branches we chose hoping for sticky buds to become flowers all get either hidden, eaten, or emerge as leaves!


Ref: 20250605_d72_20250427_1556_075 horse chestnut candle(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 05 May 2022 at 07:06    Image of day on 10 Jun 2022

Our own Horse Chestnut trees from an assortment of sources are only just starting to flower. This is the first candle we spotted from the outside of our south hedge some 5 metres up the tree.


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Image Taken on 02 Oct 2009 at 10:12    Image of day on 11 Nov 2009

Our initial planting included only 3 Horse-chestnut trees, but they grew so well we added another 30 or so about 15 years ago. Most are healthy and producing conkers. Here a husk has dropped one of its conkers but not the other.


Ref: 20091111_p34_20091002_1012_406 horse chestnut candle on tree south of duck pond (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

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