Italy | dgcPhoto

Wasp drinking

by David Clarke | Aug 27, 2020 | Insects & Spiders, Italy

Paper wasp (Polistes dominula) floating on the garden pond while drinking. Its legs push down on the water surface enough to form a depression but the surface isn’t broken. The result is six large buoyancy paddles that support the wasp that you can see as shadows on the bottom of the pond a few inches below. While I had seen these industrious little guys many times taking a drink, this was the first time I’d seen the ‘paddle effect’ on the water.

Canon 90D with CAnon EF-S 55-250mm lens at 250. ISO 2000 1/4000 at f7.1

Wall brown

by David Clarke | Aug 25, 2020 | All, Flowers, Insects & Spiders, Italy, Places, Wildlife

Lasiommata megera, aka Wall or Wall brown, a beautiful addition to our lavender

Canon 90D with Sigma 150-600 mm C at 562mm ISO 2500 1/800 at f8

Bee a la Mode

by David Clarke | Aug 23, 2020 | All, Flowers, Insects & Spiders, Italy, Wildlife

Bee trying on a duranta flower for size after discovering they are the latest fashion item in the apian world.

Canon 90D with Sigma 10-600mm C at 600mm. ISO1600 1/1000 at f8

Cabbage White

by David Clarke | Aug 22, 2020 | All, Flowers, Insects & Spiders, Italy

Cabbage white butterfly – probably Pieris rapae but might be P. Brassicae – loving the lavender

Canon 90D with Sigma 150-600mm lens at 562mm ISO2500 1/800 at f8

Sunrise

by David Clarke | Aug 20, 2020 | All, Italy, Places, The Sky

A couple of mornings ago I was hoping to catch the final sliver of the old moon before it became new again. But it was cloudy and instead I was greeted by this wonderful sunrise over hills across the valley. Shot on my iPhone.

Humming bird hawk moth

by David Clarke | Jan 20, 2020 | All, Flowers, Insects & Spiders, Italy, Places, Wildlife

Humming bird hawk moth enjoying the summer lavender blossom in our garden in Tuscany

Canon 100D with Canon EF-S 60mm f2.8 macro lens ISO 800 1/1000 at f6.3