Silver-washed Fritillary & strange friends

[Geoff F]

For a few weeks I have had brownish orange large butterflies flying around me but none would stop and pose for a portrait. Probably males desperately patrolling their chosen patch looking for females and keeping out other males.

I suspected they were Silver-washed Fritillaries but needed confirmation; then, yesterday, one of the more obliging females dropped into a nearby bramble bush but between the leaves and it kept moving about while feeding from the flowers. So I had to go hand held and try to find a suitable gap in the foliage. That gave me some images like this.



7D with Sigma 180 macro lens 1/200 F14 Iso 400. Flash used. Manual focus hand held.

That may be artistically acceptable but I need to see the wing underside for identity confirmation. There were a few wing flicks which briefly showed the underside but I messed up and over exposed them. So this is probably the best of the angles which show those silvery streaks among the greenish tints.



I was now trying without the flash and at F16 so my shutter speed dropped dangerously low for such a heavy lens at 1/125.

And a few other oddities. This little 5 mm bug was running around on an umbellifer head which was also moving in the wind. I was on a tripod but my manual focusing kept getting me 1 second behind the action.



1/200 F14 Iso 400 with flash.

This rather strange looking caterpillar is an Alder Moth.



The clash between black and bright yellow meant I kept either getting over or under exposed so eventually I turned off the flash, went to aperture priority and did a burst with 3 exposures and merged the best of the three but the slowest option turned out to be 1/60 F11 Iso 800 which was on the limit of acceptable settings.

Meadow Grasshoppers are normally variations of green with a few occasional other tints but this one was an unusual chocolate colour. A last stage nymph by the look of it.



Back to 1/200 F11 Iso 400 on a tripod with flash.

[lesno1]

Very nice set Geoff some unusual creatures i love the caterpillar

[bnnrcn]

I especially like the first and the last images Geoff. Better exposures and compositions

[John 2]

That's a nice set Geoff; 1, 4 and 5 in particular. I'm beginning to envy you. The insect life around here is minimal for the second year running. I'm beginning to wonder why.

[Wavelength]

Really a wonderful set!!!

[Geoff F]

That's a nice set Geoff; 1, 4 and 5 in particular. I'm beginning to envy you. The insect life around here is minimal for the second year running. I'm beginning to wonder why.

It has been a bit patchy around here as well, John. Maybe due to more cool damp periods during April and May. Hoverflies are mostly just a few common species and butterfly numbers are generally low although there appears to be slightly better numbers of Skippers.



And how about this large Ichneumon for an oddity. I think it is probably Heteropelma amictum



Another case of a subject which wouldn't stay still so I just had to accept what I could snap as it moved around.

Anyway, thanks for the comments.

[James G]

[QUOTE]/It has been a bit patchy around here as well,[QUOTE]

I'd say it's been the same here in the Midlands.. fewer butterflies and I've only seen a couple of damselfly species at my regular haunts. Spiders seem a bit scarce as well.... Thought it was just me choosing the wrong times to go out

[Ziggy]

Nice variety Geoff.

[Wavelength]

Nice addition

[JohnRostron]

A great set of images.

John

[Shadowman]

Nice collection.

[IzzieK]

Good set of images, Geoff. My favourite is the caterpillar.

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the replies.

Here are a few more oddities where I was shooting for identification angles.

A rather strange looking fly. Dexiosoma caninum



Initially I thought this hoverfly was just another Leucozona glaucia but on closer inspection I see it is actually the closely related Leucozona laternaria; which just goes to show that you need to carefully check out each fly.



I think this is a Summer Chafer, subject to identification, which is somewhat uncommon in this part of the country. Larger than a Garden Chafer but not quite as big as a Cockchafer.

[RandyRFJP]

Excellent sets of images Geoff!

[Geoff F]

Thanks Randy.

Here is another strange fly. Conops quadrifasciatus



I only managed one quick long distance snap and it was gone before I was able to move in for a better image.

Their larvae are parasites of bumblebees.

[ST1]

A very varied series of creatures which you've caught very well Geoff


Sent from somewhere in Gods County using Tapatalk

[Geoff F]

Thanks, Peter.

Here is another oddity from today; a little (5 mm) Picture-winged Fly called Chaetorellia jaceae. It was running around on a leaf waving its wings around to attract a female while I was attempting to keep up with it with my manual focusing through a small gap in the foliage. And, of course, I needed to see all the relevant areas for identification. Under those conditions, it isn't surprising that the resulting image isn't totally perfect. But that is the way of life for identification photography.



And another instance where I needed to work my way around to see this dragonfly in side view to establish the identification.



A female Common Darter - Sympetrum striolatum