We had planned to be in Kent this week, but, because of the extreme temperatures together with the threat of thunderstorms, we decided to postpone our visit. So today i was back at Holme Fen, where Pete and Chris spent the morning working while I had a gentle walk.

Thankfully the temperatures were at a much more reasonable level, but during my trip the sky became gradually darker and darker, until I could scarcely see anything in the more heavily wooded areas. After hearing a distant but ominous rumble of thunder, I headed quickly back to the car.

The overcast conditions meant that there were few insects about, but I was happy to see and photograph this hoverfly that looked a bit like the very common Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus, but was extremely large and a soft lemon yellow in colour, rather than the more golden hue I'm used to seeing.  Later, browsing the hoverfly key I managed to confirm that it was the Large Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus trivittatus, a somewhat more local species that I haven't previously photographed, but which is prone to large influxes from the Continent.

I made it back to the car before the rain arrived, but Pete and Chris weren't quite so lucky and arrived home decidedly damp. The storms arrived in Peterborough during the afternoon and we had well over 1cm of rain - a great relief to both us and the garden!