BUGS ABOUND...

I've recently started taking even more photos of bugs, butterflies, moths, spider and anything else that catches my eye, especially around the house, trying to stave off boredom. Some are pretty skittish and butterflies in particular will flit away at the slightest movement which is a shame if they are a butterfly (like a blue tiger) that I don't often see.

This blue tiger may have been exhausted because it didn't move when I (and others) walked under it. I seem to be on their flightpath at home because they fly over in droves. So I must not have the right plants around for them.

This one was a fair distance away across a creek but as it was opening its wings was an opportunity to see how blue it was.

I was very excited to see a different visitor to the garden the other day. It's a Coffeebean Hawkmoth (perhaps it mistook my gardenia for a coffee bush). I'd heard of Hummingbird moths and Bee hawkmoths.

At the end of the video you can see it's laid an egg which I'm told will take 2-3 weeks to hatch so I'll be watching that leaf like a ... hawk!

This robber fly was just minding its own business when I saw it. I thought it was a March fly which I avoid because I don't like the pain when they sting. Apparently, robber flies can bite but don't, usually. Interesting design on its jacket.

I was practising macro shots when I saw this guy/gal. After I saw the snap on the big screen I realised there was something else in the frame. Is that a spider teddy, a baby or smaller prey? 

This pretty caterpillar turns into a wanderer (@ monarch) butterfly 

This is a comparison between a newly minted wanderer and another which has had a longer/harder life.

I don't know which moth this tussock moth caterpillar will turn into but they're usually quite fluffy looking, some more colourful than others.