Pincer Movement - July 2020

We had terrible weather conditions this week, with torrential rain and galeforce winds combining from several named storms in the last few days. As you can imagine, this has made photography particularly tricky.

Therefore, rather than struggle against the elements, I decided to dip into my archive this week, and showcase a few photos that I've recently processed.

My pick of the bunch was this Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) which I spotted on Rose (Rosa) 'Peace' at the beginning of last month.

Caterpillar - October 2017

I was also particularly fond of this Large White Butterfly Caterpillar (Pieris brassicae), which posed for me back in 2017.

Pollen Picker - July 2020

The Leaf Cutter Bees (Megachile) were a wonderful subject this year, with lots of them gravitating towards the Sweet Peas (Lathyrus odoratus) in dad's garden.

Longhorn Beetle - July 2020

The return of the Longhorn Beetles (Rutpela maculata) after an extended absence has been one of the highlights of the year so far.

Magpie Flypast - July 2020

I don't get the opportunity to photograph exotic bird species, but I'm very content to snap away at the common garden birds, such as a Magpie (Pica pica) flying by...

Rooftop Jackdaw - August 2017

...or a Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) perching on a rooftop...

Over the Shoulder - July 2020

...or a Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus), checking out the photographer!

Blue Geranium - June 2020

I haven't had much time for gardening this year, so have relied mostly on my perennials to bring a bit of colour to the garden. These Hardy Geranium (Geranium clarkei) blooms were particularly pretty at the beginning of summer.

Drops on Begonia - July 2020

The Begonias have also been wonderful of late, even managing to keep their looks when covered in raindrops.

Twin Lanterns - September 2017

Finally, harking back to 2017, I'm hoping that my Chinese Lantern (Physalis alkekengi franchetii) plants will produce lanterns again. I'm keeping my fingers crossed as they should be appearing soon!

So this week I went with Pincer Movement as my Image of the Week simply because I loved how animated the spider looked against the bright yellow background of the Rose petals...