Banded General

The cool autumnal weather continues - summer seems to have gone on holiday. However, the up side of the cool conditions is that insects are very sluggish, which allowed me to obtain some close shots of a Banded General Stratiomys potamida, which had recently emerged from the pond. There are always plenty of larvae present but we only usually see one or two adults each year.
Another pond dweller that sat still for me was a Small China-mark moth, with beautifully patterned hind wings, whose larvae are semi-aquatic, feeding on duckweed. They build floating cases made from fragments of the food plant.
Another more surprising find was a Silverfish, which Pete found in an old plastic bottle while clearing out the garage. When we first moved into the house we often used to see these in our downstairs bathroom, but they apparently disappeared after we decorated and upgraded the flooring. Good to know they're still hanging on in the garage!