A northern fruit bug (Carpocoris fuscispinus), similarly known as a Nördliche Fruchtwanze in German), hanging around in the garden this evening.
The close-up shot of its head shows its two main compound eyes & its two red "light sensor" ocelli above.
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A fleeting, high-speed, blurry glimpse of one of my favourite garden visitors – a hummingbird hawk moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) 
This one was on a mission, flitting around even more quickly than usual, & leaving just as soon as it had arrived 
I hope for better photographic opportunities soon, because they are spectacular 
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A different bug in a different environment.
Up at my current home institute @mpi_astro in the forest above Heidelberg, the wasp-mimic colours of this spotted longhorn beetle (Rutpela maculata) caught my eye as it landed on a flower 
Known in German as the Gefleckter Schmalbok 
They spend most of their 2-3 year lives as larvae & just 2-4 weeks as adults like this one.
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Still trying to get some good bee portraits & still struggling with their large size & fidgety motions 
Not that this little beast was much more cooperative – it's a ferruginous bee grabber (Sicus ferrugineus), a fly from the conopid family
As the second, not very good photo shows, it often holds its abdomen in a peculiar way, curled up underneath 
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I've been meaning to make a photographic catalogue of the many bee species in our garden 
Today was not a good day to start, with dark clouds & intermittent rain 
But this picture illustrates the scope of the problem. Even if you do get a good shot, identifying the species can be hard
Are these Bombus terrestris (buff-tailed bumblebees) or Bombus lucorum (white-tailed). Anyone? 
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In the realm of the hoverfly 
Sometimes there’s no need for the big DSLR & macro lens – your phone will do fine if your subject is as accommodating (or hungry) as this marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) was this morning.
It also helps to use an app that allows manual focus & exposure settings
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One more picture of the killer queen, Misumena Vatia, in the lavender after sunset this evening 
It was raining & dark under heavy clouds, with a slight breeze that made it hard to get good macro photos with long exposures, even using a tripod 
But it does show the lengths a spider needs to go to to make a living
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Come to mummy ...
The queen of the lavender bush, Her Royal Highness Misumena Vatia, aka the goldenrod crab spider, just waiting one of the many bees around to get foolish 
Actually, when I arrived in the garden, she had a bee in her jaws & several others crawled all over her without response. Perhaps she's just a very picky eater
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Another hot, busy day is coming to an end for this pollen-dusted carpenter bee 
I'm not even going to try & guess whether it's a violet carpenter (Xylocopa violacea) or a splay-footed one (X. valga), but either way, I'm always happy to see these beautiful bees
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Sorry for the utterly shonky picture, but it was almost dark & macrophotography under such conditions is sub-optimal.
But out with the cat, I was surprised by a group of large loud scarab beetles flying around my head & had to try anyway, not least when this pair started canoodling.
I think these are common cockchafers (Melolontha melolontha), aka maybugs or doodlebugs in English, Feldmaikäfer in German.
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I don't take many macro photos of bees – they're big & fuzzy, so hard to get much depth of focus, & they dash around madly, making it hard to grab a sharp picture
And when it comes to huge carpenter bees, I also get nervous, scared I'm going to fluff the moment before they bomb off next door
Still, these shots of (I think) a pollen-covered female splay-footed carpenter (Xylocopa valga) aren't horrible
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This is a chequered weevil (Liophloeus tessulatus), also known by the spectacular German name of a Würfelfleckiger Staubrüssler (basically cube-flecked dust weevil).
A terrible picture, but I was lying down on dirty hard stone flagging in uncomfortably warm temperatures, so forgive me
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Pretty little criminal
This rather lovely fly was hanging out on the lavender bush this evening – I think it's a Physocephala rufipes, although as ever, I'm not really an expert
But it's also dangerous, at least if you're a bumblebee – it lays its eggs in them & its larvae develop inside, killing the bee 
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Despite its name, this rosemary beetle was enjoying the lavender in the garden this evening
And despite the Latin name, Chrysolina americana, it's native to southern Europe & parts of the Mediterranean, but is spreading 
And although pretty, it's considered to be a pest because of the damage it can do to commercial crops en masse.
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Seems to be the day for capturing hoverflies, this time one doing exactly what it says on the tin 
It’s a different species to the one I photographed earlier & is likely a male marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus).
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This small hoverfly took a liking to me in the garden & decided to land to see how tasty I was
It wasn't easy getting a decent picture holding my DSLR one-handed, but at least one turned out reasonably 
My best guess is a migrant field syrph (Eupeodes corollae), but to be honest, there are many kinds of hoverfly that look similar & I'm no expert on them
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A fly having its moment in the sunshine spotlight on this summer solstice day
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While I didn't manage to get a super-sharp shot of this leafhopper before it pinged away, its gloriously-coloured momentary setting on a day-lily seems too beautiful not to share
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Out for a very muggy walk in the woods between rain showers & thunderstorms 
Spotted a fair few dor beetles (Geotrupes stercorarius) going about their dung collecting business, although this one had unfortunately reached its expiry date 
Still, gave me the opportunity to photograph its beautiful metallic violet undersides
After a rainy & cooler weekend, it's more conducive to insects today.
Here's a paper wasp, genus Polistes, but whether it's P. dominula (European paper wasp), P. gallicus (French paper wasp), or P. nimpha even, I can't really tell from this one angle – anyone?
There was also a bee struggling to fly It had some white mites attached between its thorax & abdomen – Varroa destructor?
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