A Picture for Sunday - Spotted Longhorn Beetle.

Resting on top of a hollyhock bud, this beetle stayed still long enough for me to photograph it.  At first sight it looked worryingly like a wasp.  

A Picture for Sunday - Seed Head

Ready to fly on the next breeze... shame I don't know what the flower is.

PS.  Many thanks to Kerry, who hit the nail on the head with goat's beard, otherwise known as Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon.

A Picture for Sunday - Rosemary Beetle

New species pop up in this country from time.  This beetle was on a sage plant, and when I looked closely I saw it had beautiful blue-green and red-yellow iridescent stripes.  I would love to know which wag christened it the Fresh Prince of Bel Ladybirds.

A Picture for Sunday - Large Skipper

Rusty orange with beady black eyes and basking in the sun on a sage leaf.  This little butterfly stayed still for just long enough for me to take his photo.

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Nasturtium

Looking forward to summer...

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Stripy Shield Bug

Taken last summer in Poland - there were lots of them about.  I rather like his natty stripy outfit. We don't see these insects here.  He is one of these...

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Dead Nettle Leaf Beetle

Seen on one of my walks in Poland in August.  This little beetle is the size of a ladybird and has amazing metallic stripes in red, green, blue and yellow.  I had never seen one before.

Welcome to the latest followers, JLeibfried and Fabiola Isaza Z. - thank you for joining!

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - A Dragonfly's Eyes

The eyes are like moonstones.  I wanted to know if he could see round corners but he wouldn't tell me.

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Speckled Wood

Not the most colourful butterfly, but endearingly furry.

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Small Tortoiseshell on a Hand

Last week, a few days after the thaw, I heard fluttering in our bedroom.  This beautiful butterfly was flapping against the window.  He had been hiding somewhere in the room to hibernate and the house was now too warm for him.

He settled for a minute on the back of my daughter's hand.  He wasn't at all interested in the smudge of water and honey she had for him on her hand.  He just rested there and quivered his wings for a while, then I caught him and released him outside.  

He was last seen flying up into a blue (!!!) sky from our back door.

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Small Tortoiseshell on Buddleia

Smart little chap.  Very furry too, if you look closely at his body. 

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - A Bumblebee on a Zinnia

Another picture from Bogusia's garden in Poland.

I'll be a busy bee today putting together the quilted blocks of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee quilt.  It's finally coming together..!!

A Pretty Picture For Sunday - Red Admiral

He was making the most of the sun in October.

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Red Dragonfly

It has been a good year for dragonflies.  This is a common darter.

I'm Off...

...just for a few days.  Next post on Saturday or Sunday.  xxx

A Pretty Picture For Sunday - Damselfly

Just basking in the sun on a nettle leaf.  Just the sort of picture Kailacat likes to take!

I have seen some gorgeous damselflies this week, and have done my homework to find out what they are.

This is a banded demoiselle, calopteryx splendens.  Handsome as he is, another species has the edge, the beautiful demoiselle, calopteryx virgo, but the photos I took of those weren't quite up to scratch.  Next week perhaps, weather permitting...

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - A Flower Beetle on a Thistle

This is a picture I took last weekend whilst out on a walk.  Over the past few weeks I have been doing an applique of a thistle - more about that later - so I took this picture to remind myself of what they look like in real life.  The beetle just happened to be there, which was good of him, and he was happy to pose while I fooled around dangling the lens cap dangerously close to his antennae.  A quick bit of research on the internet revealed that he is a flower beetle and feeds on pollen, which explains why he was able to ignore me while he concentrated on lunch.  All that pollen plainly goes straight to his thighs.