Life In The Garden 17/08/2011

WARNING - lots of photos follow of things that are not birds or moths. Or plants.

Having access to a digital camera and a wealth of on-line reference images and info, means that in this day and age it is easier than ever to become completely distracted for long periods of time, snap away at anything that moves, and identify it retrospectively. Or string it, depending on how good or bad the references are and your photographic skills ....... please let me know if anything below is more stringy than Rab C Nesbitt's vest.

Anyway, I innocently wandered into the garden on Wednesday morning to see if there were any hoverflies about, or maybe another Tree Bumblebee as last year. Before I knew it a couple of hours had passed, the camera battery was dead and I'd added 322 photos to the SD card. Most of the following are new for the garden and me (at least in the sense of trying to name them).
I'll start with hoverflies, headed up by a new one for me and the garden - newly identified thanks to the book I bought yesterday.

Myathropa florea

Volucella pellucens

Volucella inanis

Next up, true Flies. I only started taking shots of these when I noticed a garden first Mesembrina meridiana (which ironically evaded the camera) and lots of Sarcophaga sp. (which I did photograph but I've left them out this time). I grabbed a few shots of other flies, then realised one or two were different again, and before I knew it I was on a fly mission.

Calliphora vicina

Eriothrix rufomaculata

Tephritis formosa

Thaumatomyia notata?

Pollenia sp.

Neomyia viridescens

Lucilia sp.

Phaonia sp.

Face Fly (Musca autumnalis)

Before I end this overly long and illustrated post, some other bits ..

Viburnum Beetle (Pyrrhalta viburni) - destroying my Viburnum tinus

Common Flower Bug (Anthocoris nemorum)

I think this is Xanthoria parietina - a lichen living on a bit of dead Winged Spindle