Here in Italy’s central Apennines, it’s not the easiest of times for macro photography. Summer is well and truly over, autumn has yet to take its place. The downy oak woods and abandoned meadows which are my hunting ground are tired, tattered and untidy, as for the most part are their inhabitants. Everything seems to have sprouted prickles and those nice clean backgrounds are relegated to the stuff of dreams. But there I was anyway, picking my way idly through the juniper scrub, my socks and shoes full of dry leaves and grass seeds… not much going on here, I thought. Then I heard it, a buzzing, low-pitched whirring sound. Disconcertingly loud. It took a while to work out where it was coming from, but finally I tracked it down, something enormous was flying clumsily from juniper bush to juniper bush. Well, actually not something, but two somethings flying as one. Yes! A magnificent mating pair of hornet robber flies (Asilus crabroniformis)! Now, I have a weakness for robber flies, so I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by. For a good fifteen minutes, I followed them through the juniper scrub. They’d seem to settle, then just as I was about to hit the shutter button, off they’d go again. In the end, they parted company and went their separate ways, as did I, covered in scratches, my hair full of juniper needles and at least one semi-decent shot to remember them by. And that’s good enough for me.