Silver-washed Fritillary - July 2018

It seemed that the weather forecasters were right for once, and we'd had another week of glorious weather. So, once again my Sunday morning photo shoot in dad's garden was spent hunting down bugs who were also enjoying the sunshine.

My first find of the day was this rather pretty Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) butterfly. Unfortunately, I only managed to get a shot of the under wing detail, but as it was a new species of butterfly for me to photograph, I didn't mind too much.

Small White - July 2018

While the Silver-washed Fritillary was a rare visitor, there were plenty of Small White (Pieris rapae) butterflies to point my lens at. This one was enjoying the delights of a Verbena (Verbena bonariensis) bloom.

Berberis Sawfly - July 2018

While the Berberis bushes were looking quite pristine at the moment, the Berberis Sawfly (Arge berberidis) usually had them stripped in a couple of weeks. This was only one of a handful I noticed at the weekend, but I was sure there'd be more of them around in the coming weeks.

White-tailed Bumbler - July 2018

The warm weather and newly blossoming plants had persuaded a plethora of Bumblebees (Bombus) to come visiting the garden. I think this is a White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) enjoying the new blooms of a Lacecap Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) bush.

Greenbottle on Green - July 2018

There were also lots and lots of Greenbottle (Lucilia caesar) flies sunning themselves in hedges, bushes and trees.

Camouflaged Crab - July 2018

Meanwhile, this Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) was doing a fine job of camouflaging itself amongst the yellow blooms of a Ragwort (Senecio) plant.

Keep on Munching - July 2018

I don't think it was hunting the Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae) larvae, but it was in the same plant.

Packing Lunch - July 2018

Going back to Arachnids, this rather small Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus) had caught something rather large in its web, and had it all wrapped up ready for a feast later in the day.

Lucifer - July 2018

New blooms to dad's garden this week included the fiery red Crocosmia (Crocosmia curtonus) 'Lucifer'...

Flower Arrangement - July 2018

...and the tiny blue flowers of the Lacecap Hydrangea bush.

Mesmerising - July 2018

The Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea) blooms continued to mesmerise...

Pink Peas - July 2018

...and the Sweet Peas (Lathyrus odoratus) were putting on a marvellous display, and also smelled divine.

Jackdaw - July 2018

It must have been too hot for the birds, as there weren't many flying about, but I managed to grab a shot of this passing Jackdaw (Corvus monedula).

Swiftly Past - July 2018

I wasn't sure whether it was a trick of the bright sunshine or not, but this Swift (Apus apus) appeared to have one light wing and one dark wing.

Pear Progress - July 2018

The hot weather must have been good for the fruiting trees, and at least one of the Pear (Pyrus) trees was beginning to show fruit.

Clown Loach - September 2004

Finally my fishy friends. This is a very old photo from 2004, and shows one of the Clown Loaches (Chromobotia macracanthus) I used to keep. They were very entertaining fish, often sleeping on top of one another in a fishy pile! They also had a habit of sleeping on their sides, which made them look rather lifeless, and gave me a heart attack every time I saw them this way.

I had half a dozen of them in a 55 gallon 4ft long tank for about five years, until they eventually outgrew the tank and I had to re-home them at a local aquatic centre. They can actually attain a size of around 50cm, something I didn't know when I picked them up at the store when they were only a few centimetres long! I still see them for sale today - all cute and irresistible - ready for the unsuspecting new fish keeper to take home to their tiny tank. I'd love to keep them again, but wouldn't even consider it unless I could provide them with at least a 100 gallon tank!

So, this week I decided to go with Silver-washed Fritillary as my Image of the Week, simply because it was a new species for me to photograph...