As we are slowly approaching summer more specimen are making a re-appearance.
Although the weather hasn't been too great for photography due to the rain and wind. The rain on its own is fine and makes for lovely photography of waterdops and snails.
Even as a child - many years back - I was very fond of snails and slugs. Their determination to overcome any obstacle in their way made quite an impression on me and I spent ours watching them and I still do so now when I can.
Many people hate them but in my garden they are welcome. Of course, if in large numbers, they do wreak havok in our gardens, espcially in our vegetable patches.
There are a few ways of dealing with snails if their are not welcome, in a more or less natural manner.
And interesting observation I made is that I never had an issue with snails or slugs eating my crop. That I think is due to the fact that I am feeding the birds and so the garden has always feathered visitors that are only too keen on adding to their dinner table by catching snails and slugs. There are certainly plenty of empty shells on the ground.
I have designated a separate page just for snails and slugs: Snails and Slugs - Friend or Foe?
But back to the weather:
The tricky part really is the wind, which of course moves all the grass and leaves and although I have a reasonably steady hand there are limits in my ability to sway with the wind and with the focus of the lense.
Therefore most of the photographs from this past week were taken of life on or sheltering behind our stonewalls so commonly present in this area.
One example is this grasshopper nursery which is very busy now. I observed several different types of grasshopper nymphs, all at different stages, too.
Who doesn't like listening to their relaxing chirping sound on a warm, later summer's evening? Last year in September I had the great pleasure of discovering on a large area of crumbled stonewall dozens of grasshoppers who gathered there in the early evening sun, mating. There was much rivalery and I did film some of it (but lost the footage!).
And when I went to visit that same spot again about 3 weeks ago I discovered to my great amazement that it had turned into a grasshopper nursery! Some of the little chaps are so tiny, at most 5mm in length! Most of the time I spent being very careful not to step on any of them, so before approaching I would move the grass in front with a stick to announce my arrival. I then sat on one of the stones and waited ... but not for long and they all appeared!
This one here was wriggling for some time, trying to get rid of remains of its skin.
I have created a separate page for these chaps too and I will update it with new observations as and when I get time to visit the 'nursery'.
The weevils have returned in large numbers and various colours ans sizes. You'll find the green variety now on most nettles, shimmering with their green-yellow-brown bodies in the sunlight.
The rover beetles seem quite busy too, and fairly feisty, bending their tails in anger at the camera lense!
And then we have the very lethargic St. Mark's Fly - Here the female of the species. They have wings but don't seem very interested in using them and if they do it is almost like watching something in slow motion, and they are silent when in the air.
Taking about buzzing noises: the longer I observe the bees, wasps, bumblebees and flies, the more I notice that my hearing seems to recognise the difference in sounds they make and very rarely can I actually guess what species it is just by the sound.
It's been a cold day with a chilly breeze, which in turn is useful because it slows the bees down a little. They need a certain body temparature before they can take off.
No comments:
Post a Comment