Ivy Visitors 16

Top of the ivy league today, the central image, is a European hornet with its prey. The ivy bush was really buzzing with all sorts of winged insects and this hornet suddenly appeared and grabbed one. I'm not sure what it is. They tussled violently. I took quite a few shots but wasn't set up for action like that. The hornet's eye can just be seen above the leaf on the bottom right of the image. Hoping that I might get a better pic before the month is out. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for the Asian hornets, with their yellow socks, which are in the news.

Don't think I've ever photographed a bumblebee mimic before. Could be Volucella bombylans var. plumata or a female Eristalis intricarius. A big bumblebee without a white tail bumbled in. The carder bee doesn't look ginger enough to me to be a common. A different hoverfly, maybe Syrphus ribesii. A different drone fly too. First visit from a crane fly. I like the flesh fly's chequered abdomen. Lovely to see lots of red admirals, I've included a close image.