Rose Chafers

2012 has definitely been a big year for bugs. The UK was cold and grey for month after unforgiving month and the invertebrate world is definitely making up for lost time.

The most recent addition to the insect world my garden has become are an army of Rose Chafers.

Rose Chafer Cetonia aurata

If you’ve never come across one, they’re hard to miss. About the size of a large Bumblebee, with a louder buzz and iridescent Blue/Green (with hints of yellow, purple and red) they are not subtle. Their colouring is the result of Circular Polarisation.


With this beautiful May weather we've been having, it is completely normal for them to be emerging in large numbers however they've decided to ignore the roses their name suggests they should feed upon and have taken up residence on a small Tamarix.

Rose Chafers Mating on Tamarix

 They should start disappearing in the coming days and weeks because, like most insect species, their driving purpose as adults is to reproduce. Once they have eaten, successfully mated and eggs have been laid, they will die.

Rose Chafer eating Tamarix flowers

Some may find them intimidating due to their size and the amount of noise they make but I love the seasonality of them and am pleased I was able to capture the spectacle.

Rose Chafer

Until next time

Wildlife on your Doorstep

Sometimes you have to travel far and wide to photograph wildlife. Sometimes you have to battle across mountains, over seas and through forest…

Other times you find wildlife, quite literally, on your doorstep.

Angle Shades Moth (Phlogophora meticulosa)

That is where I came across this Angle Shades Moth.

I am no stranger to Lepidoptera (I volunteer at a Zoo, partially in a Butterfly house featuring mostly Costa Rican species) and I have spent a lot of time over the years stalking moths and butterflies through field and marsh however I have never come across this species before.

It is a common species, found throughout Europe, that can often be found resting on fences and plants during the day. That would explain the doorstep.

It seemed like this would take a lot of work to identify as Moths can look very similar but I found it on UK Moths ‘Beginner's top 20’. In defense of my Moth Knowledge, I recognised most of the other 19.

Obviously this was not the most taxing of photo shoots but it does put paid to the excuse that you have to travel to see interesting wildlife.

Be seeing you.

The Bees

It has been almost a month since my last post which is inexcusable but I'm going to come up with all kinds of excuses anyway.  Mostly involving being busy and torrential rain. Terrible excuses.


Anyway, Today has brought the dawn of something that had to be photographed: a swarm of Honeybees.

Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Swarm

That which looks like yellow snow is all Honeybees. Thousands of them. I am living in a Hitchcock film.


They originated in my neighbours hive and decided that the second said neighbours went away for the weekend, that was the time to swarm. 

Honeybee swarm resting in Dog Rose

I'm not going to go into the depths of why bees swarm as I would just be quoting the internet. This hive was about a year old and I think there were just too many off them so some scouts set off to find a new place, form a new colony. Certainly startled some barbecues in the neighbourhood.

So many Honeybees

They have now returned to a bush next to the hive they came from. I have a lot of footage of the swarm which I'm going to edit together soon so stand by for a little bee film.


Exciting stuff.