Mastodawn

I haven't been keeping up, but here are a few of the things that have been flying around the garden of the house we're renting in Campanet.

First, a black-tailed skimmer dragonfly (Orthetrum cancellatum; 🇩🇪 Großer Blaupfeil) which has been patrolling the pool, occasionally breaking off to fight with another of its compatriots.

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

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Mark McCaughrean

Sorry for the delay in continuing this update thread – lunch intervened.

This rather smaller dragonfly is very likely a common darter (Sympetrum striolatum; 🇩🇪 Großer Heidelibelle), seen all across Europe, from my old back garden in Wassenaar in NL to here in Campanet in Mallorca.

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

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Mark McCaughrean 3d ago

On a rather larger scale & somewhat further away, a red kite (Milvus milvus; 🇩🇪 Rotmilan), soaring in the afternoon heat.

Not one for my arthropod list, but still a pretty sight.

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Mark McCaughrean 3d ago

Back down to earth – a pair of large carpenter bees was patrolling the flowers.

They're genus Xylocopa & normally it's hard to definitively separate X. valga, the splay-footed carpenter bee from X. violacea, the violet one.

But as only the latter have been reported in Mallorca on iNaturalist, I'll plump for that.

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Mark McCaughrean 3d ago

From the largest bees in Europe to the largest grasshoppers – this is an Egyptian bird grasshopper (Anacridium aegyptium; 🇩🇪 Ägyptische Wanderheuschrecke).

And unlike the previous one I saw a couple of days ago, this one had both of its hind legs, & could assuredly both hop & fly.

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

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Mark McCaughrean 3d ago

And one of my favourites, no matter where I encounter them – this is a hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum; 🇩🇪 Taubenschwänzchen).

There were also a pair of them working the same flowers & plant, which is not something I've seen very often before.

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

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Mark McCaughrean 3d ago

Finally for now, one from yesterday – a slightly mangled Old World swallowtail (Papilio machaon; 🇩🇪 Schwalbenschwanz).

Common across Central Europe, but I don't think I've ever seen one around Heidelberg. Then again, this one was very active, & it took me quite a while even to get these half-decent pictures.

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

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Markus Osterhoff 3d ago

@markmccaughrean 🤩

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drs1969 (David Smith) 🇬🇧3d ago

@markmccaughrean Always wanted to see one of these in the wild. They are rare in the UK I think. A population in Norfolk I believe.

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Mark McCaughrean 3d ago

@drs1969 Indeed – iNaturalist shows a cluster of sightings to the NE of Norwich, but other sporadic ones across the SE. So you might get lucky – they're quite spectacular. My first definite wild sighting, I think, although I may have glimpsed one in our garden in Heidelberg once.

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The ol' tealeg 🐡3d ago

@markmccaughrean same, I absolutely love them.