On 15th March, I found this wonderful moth pupa in my garden shed.   The case had a reflective waxy-like coating (not too dissimilar to a ladybird elytra) a good subject for which to experiment with stacking, studio flash and diffusion.... Read More

During February, my attention shifted from that of stalking insects to playing detective while rummaging within my local woodland in search of the most elusive of organisms – Fungi. Fungi are fascinating for the incredible variety of fruiting bodies they... Read More

The first butterfly sightings of 2017 have been recorded by Butterfly Conservation. Butterflies reported were all seen outside, active and not in hibernation. The earliest recording was of a Red Admiral – Vanessa atalanta – on 1st Jan (Sussex), followed by... Read More

This was the last volunteer conservation session at Parc Slip for the year and on Friday 16 December all the volunteers from the various nature reserves in Mid Glamorgan and the Vale of Glamorgan came along to join in. We wore... Read More

Normally a rare beast, with only 4 dots in the NBN (National Biodiversity Network) map of Britain. Nevertheless, I was lucky enough to have spotted the Giant Willow Aphid – Tuberlolachnus salignus, on 2nd December at Parc Slip Nature Reserve,... Read More

It’s now mid November and dragonflies can still be found perching and warming themselves on the fence-posts of my local nature reserve. Dragonflies can be broadly divided between hawkers, which patrol up and down or in zigzag fashion, chasers and... Read More

It’s October and summer’s bounty of insects seems to be a fading memory, as if hiding behind the autumn mist that tenaciously clings onto the distant hills. To my relief, there are still the bees, butterflies, hoverflies and wasps that... Read More

On the 26th May, I set out on my motorbike, with rucksack full of camera gear precariously balanced on my back, to Merthyr Mawr. My journey, or rather quest, was to search for the Grizzled Skipper. Grizzled Skippers are tiny... Read More

Welcome to the WildlifeMacro blog. My name is Alex McCarthy and this blog combines my passion for wildlife and macro photography. Although the focus of WildlifeMacro blog is on insects and insect photography, I will often stray towards other photography... Read More