It felt like a dream ...
... small white flowers have covered the fields ... like floral snowflakes that can't melt under the persistent summer sun.
White butterflies were dancing around ... and here :) I have to break this slightly poetic tone, to tell you that this is the Cabbage white (Pieris rapae) butterfly ... and that this was once a cabbage field.
After the agricultural cycle ... after the rich harvest ... when the field is left to rest, it gets quickly colonized by a new set of beautiful self seeding plants, led by the Anthemis arvensis, that looks a lot like Chamomile, but has no odor ... at least not a strong, characteristic one like the Chamomile.
This is not a problem for a multitude of insects. This plant produces flowers in spectacular numbers, and the flowers produce spectacular quantities of pollen and nectar. On this photograph you can see the beautiful (at least in my opinion) Eurydema ornata bug. Many species are visiting this place for its pollen or nectar, but not the bugs. They are here for the sap of the plant.
Bugs are often decorated and colorful ... this Graphosoma lineatum has some lovely dots on the lower part of the body ...
... and some cool lines on the upper side.
To continue the post in this vivid red tone ... I decided to introduce the Lady beetles right now.
This is the relatively small Hippodamia variegata Lady beetle.
The considerably bigger Coccinella septempunctata are also present here ...
... and so are their larvae. Judging only by this photograph, you could think that this is some kind of pollen eater :D but nope, This is definitely a predatory species, living on aphids, insect eggs and some other minuscule insects considered pests on many crops.
Unlike the larva from the precedent photograph, this small beetle buried in the rich center of the flower that looks like juicy egg yolk, is a real pollen eater.
This is the very common Brassicogethes aeneus pollen beetle.
The female beetle lays its eggs in the flower buds of the host-plant and the larvae develop within the flowers. Both adults and larvae feed on the pollen and nectar in the flowers.
Many wild bees are visiting this field. This is only one of the species ... and I don't know its name. I'm very bad at recognizing various bees ... and the mitigating circumstance in my ignorance is the fact that there is a nice, wide array of bee species present here in my area.
I promise you more bees :D in this series of posts. This is only the part one. I don't like to play all the best cards in the first round ... so I left some really cool surprises for the following episodes.
Flies are also very active polinators.
I don't know what exactly species is this ... but I'm relatively sure that is a part of the Tachinidae family.
Some flies on these flowers are very small ...
... like this one ... don't ask me about the species :D ... please ...
... or this one ... if I could be able to tell you the names of all species I photograph - I'll be even happier person than I already am :D and I'm extremely happy, believe me ... in springtime and summer at least.
Some bees are also pretty small. Like this one ad example ... if this is a bee ... I'm not sure ... maybe is a wasp ... or bee mimicking a wasp ... or vice versa ... the world of insects is varied and crazy, it's easy to get lost and confused.
I showed you some exuberant, colorful bugs before. But not all bugs are like that. This is a more camouflage - oriented species. It has a lot of similarity with the Dock bug, in shape at least ... and I don't know the exact species.
This is the Lygus pratensis ... another bug ... and a very different one.
This is a very small bug species ...
... very common ... and present in big numbers on a wide array on wild flowers ... I'm pretty confident that one day I'll find out the name of the species.
On this photograph you can see a couple mating.
With many bugs around ... you can also encounter many bug nymphs ...
... of various types.
Here is a minuscule iridescent wasp I never noticed before.
On this photograph you can admire a fine example of wasp pottery. I don't know which species made this, but is definitely a wasp work. You can see it by style, design and the professional look of the construction.
With many insects around, you can always find some spiders in the area. Here you can see a minuscule one ... surrounded by the remains of his meals.
This large silky tent ...
... spread across a bunch of flowers ...
... is a nest ...
... filled with tiny chunks of lovely arachnophobia :D
Take a break with some butterflies ... could be a good idea, and some sort of antidote after all these spiders. This is some small blue butterfly species. Maybe the Pseudophilotes vicrama ... but I'm relatively far from being sure about that.
This is the Colias croceus ... or at least - it could be ... I feel that I'm pretty close to the right species.
The beauty on this photograph is the Issoria lathonia ... and this time I'm absolutely and unusually sure ! I'm ready to give all my HIVE away if I'm wrong !
These Common red soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) are here for the pollen ...
... just like the minuscule Carpet beetles Anthrenus verbasci ...
... and here ... and now ... this first episode ends ... as always in these series on HIVE, all the photographs are my work ... TO BE CONTINUED ...
