Tag Archives: insects

Jul 14 2026
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Observing the bees

Monday 13th July 2026, 5.35pm (day 5,436)

Bees at work, 13/7/26

Respect the pollinators. I know bees are ‘social insects’ but do they socialise, particularly? When two come together like this are they in fierce competition or is it more like, “Hey Bob: make sure you check out the bit just to your left, there’s some good stuff over there”?

I pick the title of this post because it’s not just me watching them, either. The blob to the right is not a blemish on the lens (of which I have plenty) but some other little bug hanging around, and unless I’m mistaken you can see a second one just behind the wing of the rightmost bee. As you can see the weather stays clement — very pleasant stuff I think, although the grass in the garden is starting to go brown.

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Jul 07 2023
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Ladybird meeting place

Wednesday 5th July 2023, 4.25pm (day 4,332)

Ladybird ashtray, 5/7/23

The yellow plastic ashtray sat on the outdoor pub table seemed to be where it was all happening this afternoon. I helped the first one, the top one here, get out, only to see it then return of its own accord; it was then joined by the second. So I left them to it.

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Apr 26 2023
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Tulips and the Corn Exchange, Manchester

Tuesday 25th April 2023, 8.55am (day 4,261)

Tulips, Corn Exchange, 25/4/23

This was one of those shots where the crowning touch was not apparent until I uploaded it — namely the bees. They are not actual insects, of course, but drawn on the doors of the establishment (an ‘aparthotel’ I think) which lies behind these flowers.

Additionally, this looks like it will be the last shot taken with the Canon PowerShot SX740 camera I have been using since 18th August 2021. 20 months is not long for a camera to last, even with the daily usage that I give it: but it never really recovered from the St Helena Tarmac Incident of late January. It limped on for the next three months, and I am grateful for that, but a replacement was becoming urgent. If you’re interested in these things, today I picked up a Panasonic TZ95: let’s see how long that lasts. I think it will be the fifth (and certainly at least the fourth) camera to have supplied the artwork for this blog.

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Sep 20 2022
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

House guest and its private larder

Tuesday 20th September 2022, 1.20pm (day 4,044)

Spider and larder, 20/9/22

I haven’t been getting about much over the last couple of days. Point the camera up at roughly a 45º angle from where I took yesterday’s shot, and you will catch our tenant spider in your viewfinder. I noticed today that she’s built up quite a larder for herself. Fine by me: at least all these critters aren’t eating the houseplants.

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Nov 13 2021
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Little f***ers

Friday 12th November 2021, 11.45am (day 3,732)

Ant army, 12/11/21

Four (or, if you count like the St Helena Government, three) days into quarantine and I already have enemies — namely these little ants that seem able to get into sealed boxes and packets of food, march across my ceiling (as here) in regimented lines, turn up anywhere and everywhere. They’re irritating rather than harmful but I am still on a war of extermination. It gives me something to do, anyway,

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Jul 18 2015
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Daily Post, Family Member, Portrait

Clare, Joe and insects

Saturday 18th July 2015, 8.10pm (day 1,423)

Clare and Joe, 18/7/15

Walking home after a barbecue at a friend’s house. I like this photo partly because of the way the sunset light has caught the clouds of insects accompanying us on our journey, but also because when Clare saw this on the camera she went “bloody hell, he’s as tall as I am”. Which is true, now she comes to mention it.

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May 31 2013
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna, Hebden Bridge

Bluebells and insects

Friday 31st May 2013, 2.30pm (day 645)

Bluebells and insects, 31/5/13

Three days of photos back home in HB and they’ve all had a floral theme; which is certainly pervasive as a theme, round here at the moment. There is more going on in this picture than you might at first think, however: this was taken into a cloud of insects, several of which are lit up in the sunlight to the top right of the shot.

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