These are a few of my favourite things

It's June, and we've had a week of great weather, so the insects are appearing very quickly now.

Two great hoverflies, starting with one of my favourites: Leucozona lucorum. Look out for its close relatives Leucozona glaucia and Leucozona laternaria.


Anasimyia lineata is another favourite because I suspected it would be present, but it took me 5 years to find it. The larvae are associated with Bulrush - Typha sp.


Cantharis rustica is one of around half a dozen Soldier Beetles on the patch.


Male and female Azure Damselflies - Coenagrion puella:



Two shots of male Bombus pratorum:

A pleasant surprise

One part of the hedgerow is currently alive with damselflies all displaying themselves on ferns, Hawthorn and grass stems in a shimmering display of blue, red and green. I love a challenge, so I thought I would try to get 'the definitive image' of a Common Blue Damselfly.

Last night, I was browsing the images and I liked the quality of this one, and I was also pleased with the composition: the Scaly Male Fern makes a lovely platform.
Suddenly my jaw dropped. The markings on the second abdominal segment are quite different from the usual 'wine-glass' marking of the Common Blue, taking the form of an underlined 'U'. A quick glance at the references revealed that this is a male Azure Damselfly - Coenagrion puella - another first for me.