Hoverfly Landing on Echinops

The delicate blue flowers of the thistle-like echinops are well known among gardeners for attracting insects, and this one was indeed covered in bumblebees. As I was focusing on one, my attention was drawn to the golden flash of reflected sunlight as one of these little hoverflies darted into the frame. I spent the next hour chasing them around the bloom. One of the smaller and faster of the species, Episyrphus balteatus or the Marmalade Hoverfly it required a high shutter speed of 1/1000 second and an ISO of 1000, sacrificing detail for sharpness.