In an English country garden

The air was full of industrious buzzing this morning, as the bees found flower after flower to visit. Dozens of butterflies danced in the sun ... until I got my camera out ! Then, to a man, they all hot-tailed it to someone else's garden to do whatever they do, in private !

Garden Bumblebee on Ligularia

I hung about, trying to look inconspicuous, until they gained a false sense of security and returned.

I was interested in which plants were top of the popularity stakes, and my random little sample was quite interesting !

I wouldn't have thought that dahlia's would be high on a bee's wish - list of places to visit, but they were almost forming an orderly queue to get to this one. I spotted three bees on one bloom at the same time.

The various Ligularia flowers were a hit with bees and butterflies alike, and this Peacock butterfly was one of many visitors.

The bees seemed to prefer the tall flower spikes of  Ligularia 'The Rocket'.

Red-Tailed Bumblebee

The Scabious in the photo above, was a-buzzin' with bees pretty constantly, as, of course, was the Buddleia, the traditional favourite of the butterfly.

Peacock butterflies on Buddleia

Tree Bumblebee

The comma butterfly , above, is the only one I have ever seen in the garden. It looks as if it has been in the wars and lost its lower pair of wings, and you can still see the tattered edge remaining. Maybe that is why I managed to capture it on camera as it was not as nifty as it should have been !

Apologies for the following photo, the only one I managed to get of a Cabbage White - I swear there were swarms of them before I got my camera out ...

We don't get a huge variety of butterflies other than the ones shown in this post, there are occasional Common Blues and Red Admirals.

Not all insects are welcomed as warmly as the bees and butterflies though... when I saw this one, I elt my Squishing Thumb begin to itch ...

The Lily beetles are decimating my lovely lilies as I write, and must be stopped at all costs ! It is an infuriating beastie, as, when I pursue it, it drops off the lily (where I can see it perfectly), onto the soil (where I can still see it perfectly because it is bright red) then rolls onto its black back, and camoflages seamlessly with the soil.