Up and away...

I was very, very lucky today when this longhorn beetle Rutpela maculata decided to fly off just as I pushed the shutter, resulting in an image much more pleasing than I had originally imagined.
Rutpela maculata is a very common longhorn beetle, especially in these parts (I saw at least 5!), but pleasing to look at none the less with very variable black and yellow markings and stripy long antennae.
The larvae live in rotten wood, and the adults are on the wing from May to August.