Garden Blooms

Lough Cahasey, Co. Mayo.

Common Blue (Pollyommatus icarus)

Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum)

Garden Insects

Hoverfly (Leucozona lucorum)

Hoverfly (Leucozona lucorum)

Hoverfly (Leucozona lucorum)

Grypocoris stysi Adult

Grypocoris stysi Nymph

Grypocoris stysi Nymph

Grypocoris stysi Nymph

Longhorn Beetle (Rhagium bifisciatum)


Dandelion


Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)

Life and Death in the Garden Pond

Larvae of the water beetle (Agabus bipustulatus) eating a tadpole (Rana temporaria)

Following the demise of my pond goldfish during the cold winter the garden pond has become a hive of activity. The fish would normally eat anything that moved including tadpoles and beetles. In their absence the pond has reverted to a more natural habitat and is full of tadpoles, dragonfly and damselfly larvae, and water beetles and their larvae. The water beetle larvae are vicious predators and can easily overpower the tadpoles which are often bigger than them. The tadpoles feed mainly on algae but they will eat any dead animals including their own siblings. They also quite like ham!

In these pictures the larvae of a water beetle (Agabus bipustulatus) is feeding on a tadpole (Rana temporaria). The larvae basically sucks the juices out of its prey.

Macro Photography Tutorial

Here is a macro photography tutorial that I occasionally give at my local camera club:

Large Red Damselfly

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula)


A few Large Red Damselflies have emerged from my pond and are tentatively exploring my garden. From a distance they don't look too impressive but up close they are very delicately marked and are surprisingly colourful.