These below are for me some of the most notable moments of this months adventures so far.
The Dolichopodidae Fly
These long-legged flies are a large family of True Flies.
Yes, I too didn't know what True Flies are and so I have made enquiries: they are insects classed as Diptera (Greek: di = 'two' & ptera = 'wings'). Insects of the order Diptera have only a single pair of wings and the hindwings are reduced to a club-like shaped organ for balancing (and just answered another question I had.)
These Dolichopodidae Flies are predatory and feed on smaller animals. They are mostly small flies with the most prominent body parts being these long, stilt-like legs and the fairly large eyes. This is just one example of course, these flies do come in different colours and do vary lightly in sizes but they often have a green-blue metalic body colour.
It appears that the fly above is feeding on a pot worm (enchytraeids).
Now just what is a pot worm? Indeed the name gives it away; it appears that someone somewhen discovered these white and see-through worms in plant pots, hence the name. They love rich organic matter, places that are moist and low on pH. They feed on fungi, bacteria and organic matter.
I guess this makes them a delicious meal for the Dolchiopodida fly. :)
Short life of a froghopper nymph.
In a previous post I have mentioned this white, spit-like foam that can be seen all over the garden and meadows. The foam is a protective 'casing' for the froghopper nymphs.
However, it is clearly a case of survival of the fittest and death for the unlucky (wrong place at the wrong time), such as this nymph that will not ever make it out of the protective foam ... A plant bug is making the most of this easy prey!
Female Cleg Fly - Also known as Horsefly
We all know just how annoying they can be, especially if you have horses! I'm afraid I'm guilty of swatting many of these. But when I looke at my very first macro shot of one of these flies some 2 years ago I was 'gobsmacked' ... those eyes!
The male too has beautiful eyes but his appear 'half open'. It is the female only that has the biting, sharp mouth parts (no jokes please! :P) and the females feed on the blood of large mammals, here mostly cows and horses. In the meantime, the male is happy with some delicious nectar ... as he does not have the same sharp mouth piece.
A proud Wolf Spider Mum!
This was for me certainly the highlight of the month: never before have I seen a spider with her spiderlings on her back.
It was on a warm morning, the above mother was joined be another spider mum and a male. All three were sunbathing on a piece of old, broken off branch. Neither of them were upset by my closeness and I had the joy of spending quite a long time with these beings.
Every now and then one of the tiny spiderlings would wriggle and stretch a leg out. I was anticipating them to 'dismount' at any moment, but no such luck. The male spider was interesting to observe too. He made the rounds around these two spiders as though he was there for their protection. Perhaps they all were waiting for the little ones to leave the mother's body, I hope I wasn't interupting them too much. The male would also every now and then touch the female with his legs, almost as though to hold her hands ...
All of us sat there in the warm sunshine, me mesmerized by what I was witnessing and them probably wishing for me to 'bugger off'.
Isn't she beautiful!
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