Today my Persicaria virginiana (Virginia knotweed) was invaded by juvenile specimens of one of my favourite bugs, the Nezara viridula. The deep pink of the flowers are a perfect match for the pink marks that surround the bug’s shield! And my recently planted Astrantia major ‘Shaggy’ had attracted a couple…
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…
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.
Those insects sure like my Monarda!
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?
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?
This morning, a little macro safari by the river, for a change from the garden. I met the “usual suspects” there…
Fable of the day
In the past years I’ve came back empty-handed and disgusted from several “insect safaris” field trips in the surrounding countryside. As a result, since I no longer go to watch the insects, they come to visit me in my garden. When I saw this magnificent “dragonfly” still asleep on a…
This morning I “rescued” a praying mantis caught in a spider web in a corner of my garden shed. This is the season when these insects seek refuge indoors. Relatively rare north of the Loire, this is only the third specimen I have seen here in 20 years!So I carefully…