The Bog - Emerald Damselflies

Emerald Damselflies must be one of the most beautiful of our Damselflies. The iridescent metallic sheen gives them an edge on just about all the others!

Here's the male, noticeably thin abdomen with powdery blue coloration on the side of the thorax, pronotum and some of the segments. 

The female has a distinctly thicker abdomen, greenish above with beige underparts.

And you can clearly tell for these two, it was love at firstsight!

The Bog - Mottled Grasshopper

Whilst Grayling were the target species, I kept my ears and eyes to the ground in the hope of nailing my final 'easy'  Grasshopper for Shropshire. The habitat here is ideal in the sunny dry spots and it wasn't long before, I could see obviously 'clubbed' antennae in the viewfinder! Keeping them still and in a reasonably open position for a picture was another matter!!

My first one had clearly suffered an injury to the tip of the left antenna! Clear mottling, long wings and red colouration to the abdomen looking good for a male Mottled Grasshopper. The search was on for a better one however...

After a bit of a search, finally found one showing clearly clubbed antennae although there was far less mottling in general. The strongly inflexed pronotum looks good though!

Fascinating creatures, wonder which one will hop into my life next?

The Bog - Grayling

Another habitat, another butterfly and a Shropshire speciality in the form of Grayling, formerly in decline in inland areas. There were at least 12 flying about, always easy to find (after nearly being stood on!)

I've done the underwing on a stone image many times before! Something else was needed?

Brambles to the rescue...

Which way is up?

Two feeding on the same patch!

There was a lot more insect action going on there too!

The Bog - Jay caught in flight

A random mooch around 'The Bog' didn't produce an awful lot although I did see my first Large Red Damselflies of the year! A Jay was fly-hopping through some scrub so I picked a spot where I guessed he would appear and my luck was in! Here's half a second's worth of action...

I was hoping for one of the burst to be free from clutter and it nearly was...

There wasn't a lot else and it was baking hot, an ice cream beckoned...

Holly Blue and other insects

I was giving Wenlock Edge the once over late afternoon for Wall butterfly but the only brown job coming my way was the ever present Speckled Wood!



Some consolation came in the form of a male Holly Blue which actually stopped (can you believe it) to pose for the camera!










Plenty of Common Blues at VP, male upperwing here.....




Plus female underwing shots......





Hopes of a late hatch of Small PBF on the Stiperstones were dashed but this is certainly the place to see Grayling!



At 'The Bog' Black Darters up to their usual activities. I wouldn't recommend you try this with your partner in a Gorse bush!!