Glynn Hobbs - imageweaver

One of the most amazing creatures to watch, the Hummingbird and Bee Hawkmoths actually beat their wings faster than an actual Hummingbird! The following photo's were all taken with my Nikon D500 and Nikon 70-200 f4, or 200-500 f5.6 lens. Like its namesake, the Hummingbird Hawk Moth hovers in front of flowers, collecting sweet nectar from within. In place of a beak it has a long straw-like proboscis that it uses to siphon off the sticky fluid. At roughly an inch long this proboscis is nearly the length the moth’s body, so it keeps the appendage coiled up tightly when not in use.  The Bee Hawkmoth is from the same family as the Hummingbird Hawk Moth, but is easily distinguishable, by its brighter colouring and transparent wings. Similar to other hovering insects, both generate lift by moving their wings in a shallow figure-eight pattern. This motion creates a spinning vortex of air on the upper surface of the wing, which generates a well of...

It's now December 2018 and I am sitting in my warm home, on a dull day, with the rain pouring down outside and a strong wind blowing.  It therefore seemed a good idea to review some of the shots of butterflies, that I took during the summer. Although the following shots only show a fraction of the wide range of butterflies that exist here in the Dordogne, looking back through them, certainly brightened my day and hopefully yours! All photographs taken with my Nikon D500 and a range of Nikon lenses. Gatekeeper Butterfly  (Pyronia tithonus) The Gatekeeper, also known as the Hedge Brown, is a golden butterfly that provides a welcome sight in the middle of summer, when the fresh adults start to emerge. This butterfly spends much of its time basking with wings open. The habitat this butterfly requires is found over most of France. Colonies vary greatly in size, depending on the available habitat, ranging from a few dozen individuals to several thousa...

All of the images below were taken with my Nikon D500 and a variety of Nikon Lenses Violet Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa violacea). These bees have powerful mandibles (jaws) that can dig tunnels in wood (hence the name). A huge (20-23 mm long), black bee found in central and southern Europe, nests in dead wood and digs a tunnel up to 30 cm long containing 10-15 cells. This bee holds the record for laying the largest egg of any insect! They are almost black in colour and have hairs which are dark grey. Their wings are dark brown with a shimmer of blue. The bee inhabits warmer areas and prefers river valleys, forest edges and gardens. Bumble Bee (Bombus Terrestris). Bumblebees are social insects, and a nest, or colony, may contain up to 200 bees. This is quite small in comparison to honey bee colonies which can have 100,000 bees. Male bumblebees survive until late autumn and then die off with the onset of winter. Mated females hibernate through...

I have shared most of my life with dogs, starting at the age of just 4 years old, right through to retirement and my life has been enriched by their company, loyalty and affection.  Almost 11 years ago, my life was changed yet again when my wife and myself rescued a young 'Briard' who had been badly treated, taken out into the countryside and dumped by the side of the road. He was just under a year old at the time and was such a pitiful sight when we first saw him, cowering in a corner and physically shaking. He was so traumatised, that he 'apologised for living' and shook desperately as I slowly approached him for the fist time.  In all my life, I have never seen such a sorry state and I knew in that moment, that I had to rescue him and start the rehabilitation required to bring him back from the trauma he had suffered. Fortunately, we already had another dog; a Black Labrador called 'Tess', so that when we arrived home together, he already had ano...

This summer, I came across a very unusual insect that I had not seen before. Initially, I assumed it was some kind of fly, but after a session on 'google', I discovered that it was actually a wasp; and a rare one at that! It originates from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and most of Asia. Outside its natural range it was found in 1979 in Austria, then in Slovenia in 1991, Italy in 1995, Switzerland in 1998, Germany in 2002 and Southern France in 2005 ... The species is now well established in Europe, but only recently identified in our area.  It's body is black, often decorated with patterns, or stripes, depending on the family. It has two pairs of wings, but the back ones are smaller and attach to the front ones, giving the impression that it only has one pair.  Like other insects, the sceliphron has three pairs of legs that often carry colored bands.  The abdomen, which has the shape of a droplet, is at the end of a very thin and long waist and the ...