Paul

Thank you Denis. For a small patch, there is sometimes a nice diversity. Paul.

Late last night in the garden I found a brimstone, a spider I'd never photographed before, and hedgehog! Plus a first ever for me of the false pirate spider, [I]Platnickina tincta[/I] And while taking these a hedgehog snuffled by... She didn't mind the flash (flinched the first time which worried me, but seemed happy after that) and if you look closely you can see she has passengers.. Paul.

Rapeseed beetles - or flea beetles as farmers call them, can and do decimate rapeseed. TBH, it's hard to me to distinguish clearly between the two - though the reason I called this alder, is because they are common around here, and there are few rapeseed crops locally (the nearest I know of is at least 25-30 miles away roughly) - though I accept they could feasibly fly a good distance. There are many alder beetles found at Brockholes, just down the road from me. Paul.

Thank you John Paul.

Them elytras are so tough, in more ways than one! Paul.

I had to work on the highlights Geoff - not an easy subject. Paul.

This managed to get into the house - and after following it's rescue to the garden, it posed by a way of thanks on the agapanthus... Paul.

Thank you again Gareth. Paul.

Thank you Gareth. Paul.

Ta Geoff. Imagine a meal the size of our body... We'd never eat it all ! Paul.

Got a few of these on my bay willow shrub by the front door of the house. The shrub always gets sawfly caterpillars that do a good job of stripping the leaves, but I assume these tussocks will do an equitable job of it too... Paul.

This salticus scenicus jumping spider has gotten a meal that is huge compared to itself! Paul.

Thank you John. Millipedes seem slow but actually move a lot! And that larva (its from the marmalade hover) constantly crept along and occasionally waved its head around. Paul.

Thank you Polly. I learned about these a few weeks ago, didn't really expect to find a second one in the garden though. Paul.

Thanks Geoff & Polly. Brockholes sounds good - we'll have to make it happen. Paul.

Thanks Geoff. I am eternally grateful for the use of it - but it is yours to be returned at short notice whenever you say. Eventually, I need to decide on what to do about my own lens, be it buying one (on finance probably) or something else (maybe buying yours if you decide you'll never need it back). I know LAOWA have a 100mm lens that actually has an auto-aperture which would mean seeing the subjects clearly as it would mean even at f/11 I would be able to see the subject (cos now at f/11 it's almost invisible especially at night)! Then there is image stabilization and auto-focus to consider - it is tough every time I take a photo to both manually focus and keep it steady. No matter what though, please recall your loan at any time you need to, though until then, I hope to continue to make good use of it, and produce more photo's that you and everyone else enjoys. Paul.

Today and tonight's ramblings yielded the following: a hoverfly larvae which was looking for a place to sleep for a few weeks, a snail and it's trail, and a millipede. Hoverfly larvae: (White lipped) Banded Snail: And the millipede: Paul.

A new photo of the remains of an aphid, it's body attached to a podium created by a braconid wasp. This tiny parasitic wasp finds a target host and deposits an egg inside it. This egg will be dormant until the host is big enough for the larva to hatch and then the wasp larva feeds on the insides of said host. This is a test shot for a testing out a new diffusion methos however, but it's still a fascinating subject matter! Paul.

I think we all detest their nasty side...

She's still alive, just... I so much wanted to make contact with a firmer swipe!!!

Thanks Geoff. I spent more time moving away from her than I did pointing the lens at her! It was literally like she was hunting me! Paul.

We as humans just don't want to get too close to the cleg fly females - them pincers make a nasty mess of your skin! (Haematopota crassicornis and) Haematopota pluvialis are very similar. This is the latter (brown mottled wings). She kept landing on my shirt and I kept flicking her away - and for a brief amount of time, she landed on the fence, where I felt more comfy approaching! Paul.

Thanks Fuji. Paul.

Thanks gents Paul.

Cropped in to see the proboscis bit - 2 edits, can't decide which I prefer though, so posted both! Paul.