Nezara viridula is back
Autumn has arrived, Season of mists, mellow fruitfulness … and the Nezara viridula. Here is a Final instar nymph (5th instar) found in the garden today.
The Hoheria needed a haircut
This large shrub/small tree arrived in Papi Jo’s garden in the autumn of 2019. It was quite tiny at the time, but it has grown considerably in just 2 years. So much so that it received a good pruning today, just after its spectacular flowering.
Juvenile insect in prayer
Found in a friend’s garden, captured (the insect, not the friend…) and brought back to my garden for the photo (I didn’t have my camera with me there). A juvenile praying mantis (i.e. not yet an adult). It was only about 35mm long, and you can see that its wings…
Crab spider vs. bumble-bee. Is this a draw?
Spotted this charming (?) scene on my lavatera this afternoon. Neither of the antagonists moved at all. Were they both dead? asleep? tired? Well, of course the winner was… the crab-spider aka Misumena vatia.
After the rain…
Pics of the day…
News of my fernery
The cool and rainy weather we have known from mid-June to mid-July has been much appreciated by my ferns! Here are some views of my “fernery” taken this morning.
For the love of Monarda
Those insects sure like my Monarda!
Insect of the day (pinky-lover)
My insect of the day is a tiny unidentified coleoptera, lost in an ocean of pink. Approx. 2-3 mm long, maybe of the Chrysomelidae family?
The chimeric lavatera
Last year I reported on the tendency of my ‘Barnsley’ lavatera to revert to type. This season, that trend is confirmed: there are really few pretty, very pale pink ‘Barnsley’ type flowers left. The majority of the flowers are a plain pink ‘Rosea’ type. The 2 cuttings taken last year…
A European stag beetle on my lawn!
This beautiful specimen of Lucanus cervus (male) (European stag beetle) was walking quietly on my lawn. I had plenty of time to take his picture from several angles. Who says a well-tended garden and lawn are bad for biodiversity?