Yet another day of wonderful light, so I went out several times during the day.
The patch of Phaeolepiota aurea has continued to expand (I think it might be a ring-forming fungus), and this mature specimen had dew on the cap surface:
A vertical close-up provides a nice abstract shot:
This Fenusa dohrnii sawfly larva was clearly visible as it mined the Alder leaf:
Yet another sawfly larva on Bramble:
This Autumn Hawkbit flower is just in the process of opening from the bud:
A couple of shots of the hoverfly Eristalis tenax on Smooth Hawksbeard:
Lovely eyes.
7 comments:
these photos are not just brilliant technically, but are also beautifully sensitive. thankyou.
Gerry: Thank you for your kind comments. I always try to be factually accurate, showing identification criteria where possible, but I also like to compose, select and crop with the intention of showing the inherent beauty of what's around us. We don't just need to look, we also need to see.
The pics just get better and better! That close-up of the Eristalis is a particular stunner.
Is it me or do all sawfly larvae look pretty similar?
Amazing photos, Stuart!
"Is it me or do all sawfly larvae look pretty similar?"
Yes and no: Many of them are structured like the bramble one, with more prolegs than butterfly or moth larvae. Others are adapted for mining like the Fenusa. A few others are completely flat. The problem is that they all converge on a couple of colour schemes, even across family. The foodplant can be a clue to identification, but not always. All of our adult sawflies have been identified, but many larvae remain difficult to identify to species. The only way to be absolutely sure of most larval identifications is to breed them through and identify the adult, but that can be difficult in practice: some hibernate, others aestivate so you need to very accurately reproduce their natural conditions to get the larva through to adult.
With the ones that look like the bramble one it's all about the positioning and pattern of the spots and dashes.
I get a bit frustrated that I can't put a name to many of the sawfly larvae that I find, but our knowledge is so thin that no one else is prepared to offer a firm identification in most cases. This is an area that needs much effort and attention, and its up to people like us to make it happen.
"The only way to be absolutely sure of most larval identifications is to breed them through and identify the adult, but that can be difficult in practice: some hibernate, others aestivate so you need to very accurately reproduce their natural conditions to get the larva through to adult."
And then I guess there is quite a high probability you get a parasitic wasp :-)
Roughly 80%.
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