My macro hobby started during the pandemic, photographing dragonflies & damselflies in my NL garden.

We don't have many in our DE garden as we're far from standing water 🤷‍♂️

But I had a nice 5 mins by a pond in Windsor Great Park yesterday, which included seeing this common darter (Sympetrum striolatum; 🇩🇪 Große Heidelibelle).

#Photography 📷️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️
#BugOfTheDay 🐞
#MacroPhotography 🔬
#InsectsOfMastodon 🪰
#BackGardenEntomology 🪲

And the winner is ... 🎉

The 400th species of invertebrate I've photographed this year: a lovely broad scarlet dragonfly (Crocothemis erythraea; 🇩🇪 Feuerlibelle).

Poor shot, but I was surprised it let me get close at all with my phone 🤷‍♂️

Seen at the Fischkinderstube on this evening's 47km ride.

#Heidelberg 🏰
#CyclingLife 🚴‍♂️
#Photography 📷️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️
#BugOfTheDay 🐞
#MacroPhotography 🔬
#InsectsOfMastodon 🪰
#BackGardenEntomology 🪲

Another very pretty new find this evening was this small Spectacled Berry Fly (Anomoia purmunda; 🇩🇪 Weißdorn-Bohrfliege), which took a brief liking to my finger.

While not as rare as D. vacua, it nevertheless has less than 250 observations on Germany on iNaturalist. Probably because it's so tiny & easily missed.

#Heidelberg 🏰
#Photography 📷️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️
#BugOfTheDay 🐞
#MacroPhotography 🔬
#InsectsOfMastodon 🪰
#BackGardenEntomology 🪲

Huzzah! 🥳

One of our garden's superstars returned today after an absence of three months.

This tachnid is a female Dexia vacua – so rare in central & western Europe that it was thought extinct until recently.

This is the third I've seen here this year, making me the world's leading observer on iNaturalist 🙂

#Heidelberg 🏰
#Photography 📷️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️
#BugOfTheDay 🐞
#MacroPhotography 🔬
#InsectsOfMastodon 🪰
#BackGardenEntomology 🪲

A small beast crawling in our back porch. Is this a Scymnini? It has 6 legs, appears to have a black body, and is about 2 mm small.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scymnini

#Insects #InsectsOfMastodon #ShotOniPhone

Tail-end of another hot day, up to 34ºC, so went into the garden to see what's going on.

Very parched out there & just a few arthropods, including these small butterflies: the first is a holly blue (Celestrina argiolus; 🇩🇪 Faulbaumbläuling) & the second a female common blue (Polyommatus icarus; 🇩🇪 Hauhechel-Bläuling).

#Heidelberg 🏰
#Photography 📷️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️
#BugOfTheDay 🐞
#MacroPhotography 🔬
#InsectsOfMastodon 🪰
#BackGardenEntomology 🪲