I decided to take a trip into some of the wilder parts of the local area that were inaccessible by car, so put the camera and lenses aboard the bike's front carrier basket, alongside a few tools to avoid any bike-related mishaps and a broad-brimmed hat to keep the sun off when was not riding, but shooting.
I found the route signposted well for locations, but not quite so helpful in terms of distances, and headed towards Cranfield. I arrived at a wide junction of paths where the hedgerows were alive with a variety of butterflies, hoverflies, bees, ladybirds and some strange orange-red beetles.
I caught the latter at a very opportune time in that I was able to record a scenario played out across the natural world, the selection of a mate and the intrusion of a jealous rival determined to undermine their successful coupling. I have since learned it has actually acquired the name of “The Hogweed Bonking Beetle”– so, whilst I continue to complete the gallery of the rest of the afternoon’s shots, I leave you with a sequence of shots where the Red Soldier Beetle lived up to its new moniker!
I also found a very strange butterfly, that could well have been a moth, and another very strange form of beetle, with a somewhat scary appearance.
It was extremely hot, and not being in prime physical fitness, I was grateful to stop cycling, cool off, don my wide-brimmed hat and capture the lives of this range of insects. It was during this period that I also spotted an overflying heron, but a wideangle/macro lens was not the tool to capture this bird! I stayed in this one location for the entire shooting on this occasion, then packed everything back into the front basket and set off for the return trip to Marston Moretaine.
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