Here in Ireland, we find ourselves in lockdown again. So we have to stay within 5km of our homes. So for this week’s lens artist challenge it was a case of heading back over the year’s photos and seeing what types of treats there were.
Seeing and being able to photograph wildlife is always a treat for me.
One of my favourite things to do to relax is go somewhere with with my camera, and see what wildlife I can find. Here are some of my favourites from the summer.
Pyramid Orchid – it seems to have been a good year for these beautiful orchids.
Dark-green fritillary butterful likes flower rich coastal habitats which is exactly where I spotted this beauty, near Ross in Co Mayo.
Also at the coast but this time at Cross beach in Belmullet this amazing see-through and pink jellyfish. Haven’t identified this one yet so open to suggestions.
Something else I haven’t identified yet is this (wet) hairy caterpillar!
Of course I have to add a bumblebee (white tailed) – this one feeding on ragworth, hence all the yellow pollen on it’s body.
Inspired by this week Lens-Artist Photo Challenge – taking a break
Today, 25th April is St Mark’s day and I have never seen so many St Mark’s flies around us. Whether it is the couple of warm days we’ve had over the Easter or just a bumper year for these odd little flies I am not sure. One of the distinctive features of these flies is their dangling legs. They are found around woodland edges, hedgerows and wetlands.
St Mark flies – Bibio marci
I think when I took these photos only the males were about. They have larger eyes and are blacker and smaller than the females.
The flies are harmless and feed on nectar so are also accidentally pollinators. They only have a short flying life cycle and spend much of their lies as larva in the soil when they eat rotting vegetation.
Bibio marci
