I like it when insects position themselves so that you can get something other than the usual 'top-shot', because it makes it more of a portrait than a straight photograph:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2N1b8xgFrJjuuRObDJ6Q_T5-xgUhX-hSwQVfT0lLWGkwMjwDLi08-hwUc9s1yPrHpY4ykdL5rGv6Q1FnhikQpyqon_kyjVCJIlzllYT_m8eXmxkeIia7FlKORQAzFe4SqlQw5gYnUqw/s400/seven-spot-web.jpg)
I followed the flight of this micromoth until it landed and I got a few shots as it rested. Many of the micromoths are at least as handsome as the easier-to-see macromoths. Ancylis badiana is a good example of that, at about 10mm long:
Germander Speedwell starts off blue, but turns violet once it has been pollinated. Maybe it's a signal to bees that they'd be better off visiting somewhere else.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6kYia26WBya8aTCvOSypNaWYgwlMm-WvexVguRscjfX6q1UVsXgfT1phECznjL0L0pbRHrdJ-2oTUTWJv8K5pHKhLxb-IsYVzmDX7ni5sDw9VeCeOyxkaQJdR9W6nXNHXBEDG8BtmQ/s400/germander-web.jpg)
My first Orange Tip butterflies of the year, and it's a mating pair (what did I say about no time being wasted?). The one on the right is the male: you can just make out the orange of his wing-tips:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqfn6xYLybOBbdogyymJfCaQFQCE4VZDgN5ODY7fIwL49snaAwppZzzugRrSS4gRxzAV33hPR28mqWMHoUpoxYAZAbMCHgx5_N7iO-cWsK0d4ZGdRJ0k_1cX2B-wLB-sjvXp1BF0f7Hw/s400/orange-tip-pair-web.jpg)
An early glimpse of what looks to be the Garden Tiger moth caterpillar:
2 comments:
As usual, lovely photographs. The orange tip is my favourite butterfly - we get them a lot in the fields here in Yorkshire, but I have no idea which plant attracts them.
We also of course get plenty of Germander Speedwell - our colloqueal name for it is birds' eye.
Love the furry caterpillar too.
I just love that micromoth. The butterflies are super too - I always think the underside camouflage is so beautiful - and such a contrast with the top. I think mine usually use Garlic Mustard in this part of Yorkshire. It is just starting to flower, and I saw my first butterflies in the garden at the week-end, so as usual the timing seems to be spot on..
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