#InvertOdyssey
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Whilst in Dorset, I couldn’t resist visiting Crossways to see the Scarlet Darters. Such dazzling dragonflies!

Scarlet is a pretty fitting name, but even that doesn’t do them justice. They were radiant.

#Odonata #dragonfly #insect #MacroPhotography #InvertOdyssey
A scarlet darter, clinging to a plant stem with its wings held forward. It’s an intensely red dragonfly
July 14, 2025 at 7:21 PM
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The next stop on my holiday was Furzey Gardens, Hampshire. Sadly too late for Scarlet Malachite Beetles, but I did see my first Rhododendron Leafhoppers, amongst some other new bugs and beetles.

#wildlife #bug #Hemiptera #InvertOdyssey
A rhododendron leafhopper, bright green with streaks of reddish-brown, rests on a green leaf.
July 11, 2025 at 5:40 PM
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The final part of my holiday was spent in Dorset. First stop, RSPB Arne (30/6).

I spent a long time captivated by the Beewolves and Green-eyed Flower Bees.

#wildlife #Hymenoptera #MacroPhotography #InvertOdyssey
A European beewolf, a slender wasp with black and yellow markings and a large yellow patch on the face, standing on bare ground looking into its burrow. A green-eyed flower bee emerging from its burrow in sandy ground. It’s small, cute and fluffy with large green eyes
July 12, 2025 at 7:01 PM
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One of my last stops in Dorset was Durlston Country Park, always a pleasure to visit. There were beautiful butterflies everywhere, but I was just as excited to see this chunky Iris Weevil, Mononychus punctumalbum.

#Coleoptera #Beetle #MacroPhotography #InvertOdyssey
An iris weevil preparing to plunge its long proboscis into a green iris
July 16, 2025 at 6:09 PM
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The highlight of my recent holiday came at Studland (1/7), where I finally saw Heath Tiger Beetle! My third year of trying, but the weather finally cooperated.

Heath Bee-fly was a great bonus.

#Coleoptera #insect #MacroPhotography #Diptera #InvertOdyssey
Heath Tiger Beetle, black with pale markings on the wing cases, lifts itself high off the sand with its long legs. Heath Bee-fly, fuzzy and sandy brown, with a long dark proboscis, sunning itself on the sand
July 13, 2025 at 6:33 PM
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So excited to visit Sandwich Bay for the first time (25/6). Too many highlights to list, but searching Stork’s-bill revealed Lesser Streaked Shieldbug and Fallen’s Leatherbug.

Lots of Lepidoptera too, including Bright Wave and this incredible Emperor caterpillar

#Bug #TeamMoth #InvertOdyssey
Lesser streaked Shieldbug, a small, round brown bug with silver streaks, in a pot lid surrounded by detritus Fallen’s Leatherbug, a mottled brown bug with a distinctive backwards v on the pronotum, walking across sand, surrounded by detritus An emperor moth caterpillar resting on a leaf. It’s a bright green caterpillar with yellow bumps and long white hairs
July 8, 2025 at 6:35 PM
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Just back from a two-week invertebrate odyssey across southern England. The first stop was Rainham Marshes (21/6), where I saw my first Trichius gallicus and found a pair of Red-belted Clearwings!

#Beetles #TeamMoth #MacroPhotography #Clearwing #Coleoptera #InvertOdyssey
Southern bee chafer, Trichius gallicus, a fuzzy yellow beetle with black markings on its yellow wing cases, mimicking a bee. Southern bee chafer, Trichius gallicus, a fuzzy yellow beetle with black markings on its yellow wing cases, mimicking a bee. It’s peeking out of a pink blushed bramble flower A red-belted clearwing resting on a leaf. It’s a dark bluish-black moth with a thick red band around its body and clear wings. A pair of red-belted clearwings joined as they mate. They are slender bluish-black moths with a thick reddish-orange band around their body and clear wings.
July 4, 2025 at 6:05 PM
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Spent my last day in Kent (27/6) at RSPB Dungeness.

Took an hour to leave the car park! Too captivated with the Map Weevils around Viper’s Bugloss and Geotomus petiti under Stork’s-bill.

Other highlights were Cryptocephalus labiatus and Silis ruficollis.

#Coleoptera #Beetle #Bug #InvertOdyssey
A map weevil, with a long snout and intricate white patterns all over its brown body, clings to the hairy leaf of viper’s bugloss Geotomus petiti, a tiny black shieldbug with spiny legs, stands on sandy ground surrounded by detritus Cryptocephalus labiatus, a black pot beetle with paler legs and antennae, clings to the edge of a bramble leaf Silis ruficollis, a slender black beetle with a red pronotum and long antennae, stands on a leaf
July 9, 2025 at 5:37 PM
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Enjoyed a visit to the fantastic West Blean Wood on my trip to Kent (24/6).So many bugs, beetles and butterflies, including plenty of Heath Fritillaries.

Thrilled to see lots of Clytra quadripunctata and my first Cow-wheat Shieldbug.

#Bug #Beetle #Coleoptera #MacroPhotography #InvertOdyssey
Clytra quadripunctata, a black beetle with orange-red wing cases sporting black dots, clings to a leaf. Clytra quadripunctata, a black beetle with orange-red wing cases sporting black dots, clings to a leaf, looking straight towards the camera. Clytra quadripunctata, a black beetle with orange-red wing cases sporting black dots, clings to a leaf. A cow-wheat shieldbug, black with a white border and two white dots, clinging to the leaf of a cow-wheat plant.
July 6, 2025 at 6:41 PM
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I spent another day on the North Kent Coast (23/6), with another frustratingly brief glimpse of Fiery Clearwing.

These young Swallows were much more cooperative, landing close enough for my 100mm macro lens!

#Wildlife #Bird #InvertOdyssey
Two young swallows perched in a bush, surrounded by green leaves, with blue sky behind them
July 5, 2025 at 5:09 PM
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The second day of my trip (22/6) found me on the North Kent Coast.

A brief glimpse of a Fiery Clearwing was a highlight, before spending time in the darkness with Yellow-tailed Scorpions and Green-fanged Tube Web Spiders.

#Scorpion #Arachnid #Spider #Wildlife #InvertOdyssey
A yellow-tailed scorpion, Euscorpius flavicaudis, glowing blue beneath a UV torch as it runs across a brick wall A yellow-tailed scorpion, Euscorpius flavicaudis, running up a brick wall A yellow-tailed scorpion, Euscorpius flavicaudis, peeking out from a crack in a brick wall, holding its claws out A green-fanged tube web spider, Segestria florentina, peeking out from a crack in a brick wall
July 5, 2025 at 4:22 PM
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After Kent, the next stop of my #InvertOdyssey was White Down in Surrey. I saw four species of Cryptocephalus, including two nitidulus!

Neither posed for a photo, unlike this Omaloplia ruricola and Crab Spider.

Saw one of the green Cryptos laying an egg, but not sure on species.

#beetle #spider
Omaloplia ruricola, a black chafer beetle with brown wing cases, separated by a thick black line, standing on a leaf A crab spider with hoverfly prey in its clutches. The spider is yellow, camouflaging perfectly against yellow flowers A shiny green and copper Cryptocephalus beetle standing on a leaf, holding an egg between its back legs as it coats it with faeces - creating the pot that gives these beetles their name.
July 10, 2025 at 6:34 PM