Monday 15 August 2011

A GARDEN SAFARI



While sitting in the garden a couple of mornings ago, enjoying the sun and a cup of coffee, I noticed a Large White butterfly paying a lot of attention to a plant I know as 'money plant' or 'silver dollars'  (lunaria annua).


After flitting around for about five minutes the butterfly disappeared under one of the leaves. After a further fifteen minutes or so the butterfly flew away and eventually  curiosity got the better of me and I went to have a look, on turning over the leaves this is what I found.



41 pristine new eggs.

Now, with my shutter finger itching, I decided to go on safari to see what I could find......


14 Spot Ladybird - propylea 14-punctata

Bluebottle - calliphora erythrocephala

Flesh-Fly - sarcophaga carnaria

Greenbottle - lucilia caesar

Lesser House-Fly - fannia canicularis



myathropa florae - a wasp mimic

Garden Spider - araneus diadematus    With breakfast, lunch and dinner!


pisaura mirabilis     a female hunting spider with an egg sack secured in her mouthparts.


And after operations were curtailed by a brief tropical storm!  (well, I was on safari!) this  Common Frog - rana temporaria came hopping across the patio.




So, not a bad 'bag'  for a 22ft. x 22ft. urban garden.


6 comments:

holdingmoments said...

It's surprising what we can find in our gardens, once we start to search.
Cracking set of pictures Trevor.

The Herald said...

Thanks Keith.
I'll break out the pith helmet and shorts and delve a bit deeper next time. lol. [;o)

ADRIAN said...

This si a great set .......the frog has to be my favourite.

The Herald said...

Thanks Adrian.

It was just by shear fluke that I happened to glance out of the patio window, after the rain shower, to see the frog hopping by.

After the short photo session, I'm glad to say, it was happily on its way! [;o)

Roy said...

A good haul of macro shots Trevor and the butterfly eggs were particularly good.

The Herald said...

Thanks Roy,

I've just checked on the eggs and there's only a faint trace of where they were! It was 8 days ago that I took the photos so I guess, hopefully, that they've hatched! [;o)