"June Is Bustin' Out All Over"

We went bug hunting on the first day of The Wildlife Trusts #30DaysWild and were spoilt for choice. The dog roses that got battered by the storms the other day have bounced back and are absolutely smothered in blooms.

I was hoping to capture a scorpion fly for my montage and was delighted when this male landed near the dog roses. These insects get their name from the male's scorpion-like tail. It's not a sting but claspers used to display to the female and in mating. It's a dicey business for the male as the females tend to want to eat them. They try to avoid this by presenting them with a gift of a dead fly or a tasty drop of saliva.