Bruce Hyde's most read articles

This article examines the differences between White Featherlegs (Platycnemis latipes) and Orange Featherlegs (Platycnemis acutipennis) with close up photos.

Someone said to me the other day that it was a shame such beautiful creatures only live for a day - which set me thinking. While some insects are as short-lived as this, butterflies are not, so I have written this article on their lifespan.

Large vs Small Pincertails ( Onychogomphus uncatus vs. forcipatus )

Dragonflies (with a capital D) is the English word for the order of Odonata, which include dragonflies (no capital letter) and damselflies. This article looks at a few species of similar looking dragonfly. They all come from either middle England or Southern France - the Mediterranean Pyrenees. These are examples of the difficulty in sorting out some of the females. The descriptions I am giving are not necessarily diagnostic but are indicative, and relate what can be seen in the photos. Click on any photograph to go to the album of that species.

On a still, warm morning at the end of September I was walking along the bank of the river Tech near the Spanish border. Normally that particular stretch is deserted, but on this occasion I saw a tent pitched near a gap in the bankside vegetation. It turned out that a fisherman was camped there; he was with his wife and small son - they may possibly have been there all night as night fishing for carp is popular. As I arrived he had a fish on his line and was bringing it in to the river b…