Flying beasties often fly around quite fast and never sit still for long so I don’t find it easy to photograph them either. They also frequently fly off just as I am ready to take the photo. I have managed to capture some of the more obliging ones. I have also come across some interesting looking caterpillars. Other creepy-crawleys are easier once you find them, which isn’t always easy either. Identifying the little things is frequently an issue too, especially those in far-away lands, so this section contains a lot of unidentified species.
Butterflies & Moths
Below is a selection of butterflies and moths. For more information and classification go to the Lepidoptera section.
UK & Europe
The photos of the butterflies below were all taken around the UK.
Melanargia galathea
Marbled white – U3A walk at Noar Hill, June 2017
Polygonia c-album
Comma – Hankley Common, September 2015
Vanessa atalanta
Red admiral – RHS Wisley, August 26, 2013
Aglais urticae
Small tortoiseshell – Chatsworth Park, September 2015
Colias croceus
Clouded yellow – Ranmore Common, August 2016
Worldwide
The selection of butterflies below were all taken on various wildlife holidays. I have also taken photos for the classification section at various butterfly farms including at RHS Wisley Gardens when they had exotic butterflies in the glasshouse.
Danaus plexippus
Monarch in the garden – Costa Rica with Heatherley Spring 2015
Morpho helenor insularis
Common Morpho – Along trail at Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad – April 2019
Eueides isabella
Isabella’s Heliconian – at Asa Wright, Trinidad – April 2019
Urbanus dorantes dorantes
Dorantes Longtail – A skipper found near the Aripo Savannas, Trinidad – April 2019
Comma Butterfly
Speyside Yellowstone Eclipse 2017
Moths
There are a lot more moths than butterflies and many are just as pretty although they are not always as easy to see. Of the selection below, the first three were seen in Trinidad and the other two at home in the UK.
Citheronia hamifera
Difficult to identify despite the skulls on its wings. Found at Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad – Spring 2019
Automeris liberia
Bullseye Moth – in the bathroom of the main house at Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad – Spring 2019
Eacles imperialis
Imperial Moth on the wall by our cabin at Asa Wright, Trinidad – Spring 2019
Buff-tip moth (Phalera bucephala)
on my carpet in Elstead, UK – July 2017
Elephant hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor)
– in my garden in Elstead, UK – July 2017
Dragonflies & Damselflies
Thursley, my local common, is well known for its amazing variety of dragonflies and damselflies. I do get quite a few in my garden too including the Southern Hawker I watched as it emerged from its nymph stage. In Costa Rica, at La Selva Biological Station, we were lucky to find one of the world’s largest damselfly, the helicopter damselfly. It was large, around 10 cm long with a wingspan of nearly 20 cm, a beautiful thing to watch. Below is a small selection. You can find more in the classification section under Odonata.
Dragonflies
Aeshna cyanea
Southern hawker – just emerged on fountain in my pond in Elstead – July 2010
Libellula quadrimaculata
Four-spotted Chaser – on Thursley Common – July 2017
Orthetrum coerulescens
Keeled skimmer – on Thursley Common – July 2017
Aeshna affinis
Southern Migrant Hawker at RSPB Siddlesham Ferry – September 2013
Sympetrum internum
Cherry-faced Meadowhawk in Yellowstone National Park – August 2017
Damselflies
Calopteryx virgo
Beautiful Demoiselle (female) – along the river Wey at Godalming – July 2017
Calopteryx splendens
Banded Demoiselle (male) – along the river Wey at Farncombe – June 2017
Enallagma cyathigerum
Common Blue Damselfly – at RSH Wisley Gardens – July 2017
Pyrrhosoma nymphula
Large red damselfly (female) – at Ebernoe Common – May 2017
Megaloprepus caerulatus
Helicopter damselfly at La Selva in Costa Rica – February 2015. This helicopter damselfly was raelly quite big! It’s the largest damselfly in the world with a wingspan of up to 19 cm.
Other Creepy-crawleys
Below is a selection of various other beasties I have seen. Most of these have yet to be identified.
Beetles & Bugs
These are some of my favourites, especially shield bugs. I am not so keen on roaches though. Here is a selection.
Longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae Sp.)
– at Sierra Brava Reservoir, Extremadura in the Spring 2016
Chafer beetles
– Extremadura Spring 2016
Shieldbug
– At Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad April 2019
Parandra glabra (probably)
– Beetle on our Night Walk at Asa Wright, Trinidad – April 2019
Firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus)
– RSPB Guildford trip to Extremadura, autumn 2018.
Crickets, grasshoppers and more
Although there are plenty of grasshoppers and crickets locally I was delighted to see stick insects and a praying mantis at Asa Wright. We didn’t actually see many cicadas but the noise was deafening at times.
An unidentified grasshopper
– at Asa Wright Nature Reserve, Trinidad – April 2019
Stick insect
– at Asa Wright Nature Reserve, Trinidad – April 2019
A praying mantis –
– possibly Stagmatoptera septentrionalis – at Asa Wright Nature Reserve, Trinidad – April 2019
Giant Cicada (Quesada gigas)
– at Asa Wright Nature Reserve, Trinidad – April 2019
Giant Cicada (Quesada gigas)
– at Asa Wright Nature Reserve, Trinidad – April 2019
Wasps, bees, flies and hives
When I try to take photos of flowers I also sometimes get the occasional bee or fly included. Here is a selection all seen in the UK.
Mating caddis flies
Ebernoe Common, UK – May 2017
Fly
– Elstead, July 2017
Bee fly
Bottany Bay, Dunsfold, UK – May 2017
Wasp
Elstead, UK – October 2017
Bumble bee
Lavender farm, UK – August 2017
I have come across some wonderful looking hives during my travels.
Wasp nest
Grand Teton National Park – August 2017
Wasp nest next to verandah
– on the verandah at Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad – April 2019
Wasp nest
At the entrance to Magdalena Park, Tobago
Wasp nest
– Along drive at Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad – April 2019
Wasp nest
– Along drive at Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad – April 2019
Spiders
I am not that keen on spiders but some are quite interesting and the webs they spin are rather pretty.
Wasp spider
– Thursley Common, September 2010
Raft spider
– Thursley Common, June 2015
Crab spider
– My garden, Elstead – June 2016
Spider
– in my garden, Elstead – July 2017
Baby spiders – just hatched
Garden spider babies – in my garden, Elstead – May 2019
