Longhorn Moth - May 2021

I was racing the weather again during my photo shoot in dad's garden this week, and the weather was winning as darker and darker clouds rolled in overhead.

However, occasionally a shaft of sunlight peeked through the clouds, and on one such occasion I saw the iridescent wings of a Longhorn Moth (Adela reamurella) flapping around near a hedge, and went to investigate.

Longhorn on Leaf - May 2021

As the sunlight shifted position from leaf to leaf, so did the moth, which was annoying as it ended up moving quite frequently, and was difficult to keep focus on. However, I finally got a couple of keepers, and thought this shot showed off the colourful wings beautifully.

Opening Rhododendron - May 2021

In floral news, it was good to see that the Rhododendron flower buds from last week had begun to open, and it wouldn't be long before they revealed their large showy blooms.

Hardy Geranium - May 2021

The small clump of Geranium macrorrhizum plants were continuing to flower nicely, and there were plenty of flower buds left to open.

Pittosporum Bush Blooms - May 2021

Meanwhile the Pittosporum bush had more flowers this year than I ever remember seeing.

Buttercup - May 2021

There were a few more Buttercup (Ranunculus) blooms dotted around the garden, but they were allowed to stay as the insects loved them.

Lupin Beginnings - May 2021

Finally, it was amazing to see how much growth the Lupin (Lupinus) flower buds had put on since last week, and it looked like they would be in full flower within the next week or two.

So this week I went with Longhorn Moth as my Image of the Week simply because I loved the look of their shiny wings as they reflected the sunlight...