A chilly, windy, but sunny day, +9° C. Been to woods around Krasnogorsk.
More insects around than when it was warm but cloudy.
Vespula rufa queen was basking on a tree:
A -yet- unidentified Syrphine:
Upd: Melangyna ?lasiophthalma, ID suggestion by Karsten Thomsen, diptera.info:
A warm, but mostly overcast day, +17° C. Went to the woods near Krasnogorsk.
Not many insects showed up, just two insect photos, but plenty of spring plants flowering.
Some Andrena sp. mining bee:
A ?Lygus sp. mirid bug:
Stuck in Russia at the moment, don’t know when I’ll be able to get out…
Took a walk in the woods near Krasnogorsk. A nice sunny day, +11° C.
Viviparous lizard (Zootoca vivipara):
Lots of overwintered butterflies. Brimstone male (Gonepteryx rhamni):
A warm, mostly sunny day, +21° C.
Took a walk near Krasnogorsk.
Crazy butterflies this year! A totally out-of-flight-period Tufted Marbled Skipper (Carcharodus flocciferus):
A really smart-looking Didea alneti hoverfly:
Right, Moscow region it is.
After Anapa, where everyone is wearing t-shirts even after dark, Moscow region with +8° C night temperature was… quite refreshing.
It’s not that bad during the day, of course: about +17° C and sunny.
Insects are still there, hanging around the relatively few nectar sources still available.
It was mostly flies today. This is some phasiine tachinid I still need to ID:
Upd: Eliozeta helluo, ID by Theo Zeegers (diptera.info):
Ectophasia crassipennis was still numerous — and, given the temperature, more willing to pose:
Another fairly hot day, +28° C.
Went to the woods around Krasnogorsk again.
Potter wasps (Eumenes ?coronatus) were not uncommon on Canadian Goldenrod:
As were Ectophasia crassipennis tachinids:
At last a decent summer day, +27° C.
Went around woods near Krasnogorsk again, found a small bog and some nice meadows. I guess it swarms with insects in May and June! Even now there’s things to photo and catch!
Helophilus affinis hoverfly:
Found a single male Lesser Purple Emperor (Apatura ilia) maintaining territory in a ditch crossing a path. I wonder if it’s a partial second generation or a late specimen of the normal one (the summer’s been late in Moscow region this year):
A warmer day, +26° C. Took a quick walk through the woodland at Krasnogorsk.
A predatory mirid bug Deraeocoris ruber:
European Map Butterfly (Araschnia levana), summer form:
A bit warmer day than yesterday, +20° C.
Continued to explore woodland near Krasnogorsk.
Large Copper (Lycaena dispar) male:
Sericomyia silentis hoverfly:
Went to Russia for a month. It’s cooler than in London here! Only +18° C!
Been to the woods near Krasnogorsk city today.
Physocephala rufipes conopid fly, a parasitoid of wasps and bees:
Many darter dragonflies around, including the Black Darter (Sympetrum danae), which I’ve never seen before:
Vlad Proklov's wildlife blog 