Gibbous Moon

A few nights ago I noticed a white spot on the terminator of the gibbous Moon (just above the middle of the left-hand edge).  I have noticed this before many times, and have always assumed that it was the bright patch around the crater Copernicus.  However, this time I decided to check this by taking a photo (hand-held, through an open window) and this was the result.  What it shows is that the white spot is not the area around Copernicus but the brightly sunlit inner wall of the crater.  I should really have known this, as the area around the crater only becomes bright when the sun is overhead.

Photo taken on 2010-10-17.

Orange Muscid Fly

An orange muscid fly, probably Thricops diaphanus (Diptera: Muscidae).  Distinguished from the similar Phaonia pallida (also here) by having black on its forehead instead of orange.  See here for more tips on identifying T. diaphanus.

Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-10-15.

Yellow Club Fungus

A yellow club fungus growing in mown grass.  Probably either Clavulinopsis fusiformis (= Clavaria fusiformis) or Clavulinopsis helvola (= Clavaria helvola).

Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-10-15.

Red Admiral Butterfly

A late-season red admiral butterfly, Vanessa atalanta (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae).

And from back in May, here is what I think is a red admiral caterpillar, on a stinging nettle (Urtica dioica):

There is seems to be quite a lot of variation in the colour of the caterpillars of this species but here is an example of the above reddish-brown-with-yellow-spikes colour scheme.

Photo taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-05-23.

Hornet

A European hornet, Vespa crabro (Hymenoptera: Vespidae).  The above photo does not show the yellow face which was quite striking when it was flying.  This specimen was fairly large (4 or 5 cm long) so I presume it was a queen.

Photo taken beside the top lake, Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-10-11.