Nature's Place

Three stingless bees evicting another from the hive they attacked. This mop-up went on for months after the raid – https://beingmark.com/2017/06/16/a-crooked-dozen/ They probably defended the honey hoard or the queen, ’til death.

Not a tasty looking morsel, to me anyway. Fiery red assassin bug in one of its early forms, the wing ‘buds’ give it away.

Katydid prowling the flowers at night. They don’t eat as much as their larger cousins, grasshoppers, so I leave them to the tender mercies of the other night stalkers. Who lives and who dies … who knows.

Tree blood, from the same one the red assassin bug is on above. Delicious … colour.

This moth ran into me one night in the garden, then stopped in front of the lens. Interesting ‘head’ gear, the fringe on top.

What can I say … a bug on a branch doing what it does, balanced with a drop of moisture. Everything has its place.

If you look carefully – click it – you will see this fly is depositing eggs on larva on the leaf above its head. A leaf from the same tree the recent sawfly and larva were found, here – https://beingmark.com/2017/06/09/a-dozen-of/

A leaf beetle. rounded, colourful and I’ve never seen it eat another creature except leaves. Maybe that’s its gentle nature.

And in the end … walking on the edge of the world. Precarious positioning. Don’t fall off …

From the morning glory days, a male I think. Relishing a dose of nectar at the mouth of the mind altering flower.

He took his time enjoying the liquid pleasure. A rare enough visitor, we being surrounded by desert dry gardens.

And more recently, a female I think. Taking a break from collecting pollen for the nest, there’s more to life than young.

And another break, or another bee, on my dry hand. Preening time, best to last a little longer in a wearing world.

Making the most of one native flower in the garden. It’s almost summer conditions here now, not yet though.

Another flower from the local bush, seeds collected and sown for the garden to give life to. She seems to enjoy it.

Long nosed weevil on the clothes peg basket. Held on tight with folded legs when I touched the plastic on approach for a shot.

A common enough garden fly asleep – still need to be careful – at night on one of the less common flowers in the garden.

A bug of some kind, sap sucker, stopped on the young sunflower leaf for a while.

Green shield bug, another sap sucker, enjoying the abundance of nourishment in one part of the garden this sprinter.

Short nosed weevil making its way among the spring/winter plants.

Small orb weaver on a moldy old lemon – habitat – staked in the garden. Everything has its day.

Long legged weevils on an moldy old orange staked in the garden, making friends perhaps.