Having a Snack

Fall is coming near and spiders are starting to gather in the house. I do not mind certain amount of spiders in the house, but the webs have to be cleaned up occasionally. So when there is too much webs (that is, when they start to be easily visible – I do not wait for them to hang so low that I have to wade through them) I collect as many spiders as I can into a glass and carry them outside, and then take a broom to the webs.

Bellow the fold you can see why I tolerate spiders in the house to a certain extent.

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Wednesday Wings

Bee on purple aster

Bees and I share a passion for asters

Today’s Wednesday Wings is the other kind of wings, the one on insects. We’re having a wonderful September or a way too hot one, and at least the bees are enjoying it.

©Giliell, all rights reserved

White butterfly on purple flowers

Way too light. See the opposite of a black hole in shape of a butterfly

Bumblebee in purple flower

Can’t show you my face, I’m eating

Yes, we’ve got tons of golden rod here as well. The bees seem to like it

Bee on golden rod

No easy picture taking as the wind was gently blowing

Bee on succulent

Bzzzzzzzzzz

Bumblebee on purple aster

What does the colour look like to a bee?

Monday Mercurial: Medusa

During our holiday we took a boat trip around the harbour, with many jellyfish swimming around.

I can tell you, taking pictures was a “treat”. If they were close to us the boat would move fast and they’d be gone quickly, if the were further away the light broke too much on the surface for my angle.

Still, there were some nice ones.

Jellyfish in water

©Giliell, all rights reserved. Click for full size.

 

Wot Lives in the Goldenrod

rq has sent us a little series about various flowers and their residents. First one is goldenrod, and it looks like  Solidago canadensis, which is quite common throughout Europe. Sadly this beautiful plant is not only strong allergen in the late summer, here it is also an invasive weed that is damaging the environment by outcompeting local species and creating essentialy monocultures in places.

But enough with being a killjoy – they are beautiful and that is important here and now.

©rq, all rights reserved, click for full size.

Last Sunflower Resident

The sunflower is now slowly drying, all the heads full of seeds. But when it was still in bloom, I encountered on it this beetle, one that I have never seen before. I have recognized that it is a member of the family Cetoniidae (flower chafers) but that was it.

I think that it is mediterranean spotted chafer Oxythyrea funesta, which was preliminarily confirmed to me by an actual active biologist. In that case, it is a rare sight because the beetle is rare in Czech Republic and is protected by law.

©Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.

Pollination Party – Ants and Flies

I truly am envious of Nightjar’s flowerbed.

Nightjar notes: Ants are not very good pollinators, but they definitely show up for the nectar buffet, as do flies. One curiosity I was told about the Stomorhina lunata is that the larvae feed on, very specifically, locust eggs!

©Nightjar, all rights reserved. Click for full size.

Acanthiophilus helianthi and an ant.

An ant. On a flower. In a picture.

Eristalis tenax a bee mimicking hover fly.

Stomorhina lunata