The Cuckoo wasp, also known as Emerald wasp, is easely one of the most colourful insects of Western Europe. This one behaved like a true model and allowed me a photoshoot.
Fledgelings
A few weeks ago we had young great tits in the garden, straight out of the nest. I love these fledgelings. They look so brave and at the same time so vulnerable. And of course they can look very sad too, due to the shape of their beak.
Wolf
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In my previous post I showed you a bug that liked to blend into the background, but this beetle obviously does not feel that way. It is a Trichodes apiarius. I could not find an english name for it, but in dutch we call it a ‘beewolf’, because the female lays her eggs in the nests of solitary bees and in the hives of honeybees where the larvae eat the bees in all stages of development.
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Woundwort Shieldbug
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This woundwort shieldbug (Stagonomus venustissimus) is quite common in Europe, but you have to watch closely to spot one, because they are only about 6mm long. Also they know how to blend in with their surroundings, choosing a stalk of just the right colour to match their shield.
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Honeybees
Today it was unseasonably warm and sunny here in the Netherlands and so, though it is only february, all the crocuses were open and the honeybees were having their first flights of the year. They were loaded with the pollen they had collected: big clumps at their feet while little bits were covering their bodies everywhere.
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Zebra spider
I love jumping spiders and this zebra spider is a very common one that can be spotted frequently in our house and garden. When you look closely at the first picture you can see he (or she) is munching on some small insect or other.
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unidentified creature
One of the many insects I have photographed this summer that I cannot identify. Still I think he is an interesting fellow.
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Pied avocet – kluut
The pied avocet is one of my favorite birds, in stylish black and white and with this cheerful upturned beak.
Een van mijn favoriete vogels is de kluut. In deftig zwart en wit en met een vrolijke omhooggebogen snavel (wipsnavel ?)
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Leafcutterbees – behangersbijen
This summer various kinds of leafcutter bees invaded our greenhouse. They were building their little nests in small holes they dug themselves under the cacti and other succulents, using little bits of leaf from the rosebushes. It was great fun to see them struggle because the bits of leaf were often much bigger than the insect itself.
Deze zomer hadden veel bezoek van behangersbijen die in kas onder de cactussen en vetplanten kleine holletjes groeven en daarin met stukjes rozenblad hun nestjes bouwden. Het was een grappig gezicht ze te zien worstelen met die stukjes blad die vaak veel groter waren dan zijzelf.
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More oystercatchers -meer scholeksters
These adult oystercatchers were acting very funny. They made loud rhytmic noises while performing some sort of dance. I would have thought it was some kind of mating ritual, only there were three of them…..
Deze scholeksters gedroegen zich heel grappig. Ze maakten harde ritmische geluiden en leken een soort dansje uit te voeren. Je zou zeggen dat het een soort baltsgedrag was, alleen waren ze met z’n drieen…..
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Oystercatcher – scholekster
Now that the summer is nearing its end, it is high time to post the pictures I made this spring. Here are some juvenile oystercatchers fending for themselves at the seaside.
Nu de zomer bijna voorbij is, wordt het de hoogste tijd dat ik de foto’s die ik dit voorjaar maakte eens post. Hier plaatjes van jonge scholeksters aan de waddenkant van Terschelling.
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A little sunshine
A dark and foggy day in the fall and then suddenly a little sunshine through the fog…
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Ascend
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My entry in this weeks Daily Post photo challenge. Temporary stairs to the Utrecht (The Netherlands) Central Station.
Rhingia campestris – snuitvlieg
This is supposed to be the Rhingia campestris, easely recognizable by his distinctive long snout. So in dutch he is called ‘ordinary snout fly’, but I don’t think that name is used in english as well.
Dit is de gewone snuitvlieg ofwel Rhingia campestris. Gemakkelijk te herkennen aan – jawel – zijn lange snuit.
Damselflies
After a few hot and sunny days there are lots of damselflies hovering a round the pond. I love them. Though they are predators of course, they look like funny little aliens. The first picture is the large red damselfly and the second one of the many blue varieties. Don’t know which one.
Na een paar warme zonnige dagen zie je massa’s waterjuffers bij de vijver. Het zijn natuurlijk roofdiertjes maar ze zien er zo grappig uit met hun ronde oogjes. De eerste foto is een vuurjuffer en de tweede een van de vele blauwe soorten. Geen idee welke.
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Orange tip – Oranjetipje
This orange tip butterfly was trapped in our greenhouse. After I set him free he rewarded me by posing for me. Or maybe he was stil a bit in shock…
Dit oranjetipje was zo dom de kas in te vliegen waar ik hem moest redden. Nadat ik hem vrijgelaten had, beloonde hij mij door voor mij te poseren. Of misschien moest hij gewoon nog een beetje bijkomen van de schrik.
Cuckooflower – pinksterbloem
I have been extremely busy these last few months and did not have any time to go out taking pictures. However one of the rare sunny days in april when I walked into my own back yard and saw all those bugs visiting the cuckooflowers I could not resist and grabbed my camera.
Ik heb het extreem druk gehad de laatste maanden en had absoluut geen tijd om te fotograferen, maar toen ik op één van die zeldzame zonnige dagen de achtertuin in liep en al die insecten druk bezig zag op de pinksterbloemen kon ik het natuurlijk niet laten mijn camera te pakken.
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Tulips
I have seen lots and lots of tulip pictures these last few weeks. Apparently they are inspirational flowers. Maybe because of there shape. They seem to have an almost modern design. Anyway, here are mine:
Er zijn de laatste weken enorme hoeveelheden tulpfoto’s geplaatst. Blijkbaar zijn het inspirerende bloemen, misschien door hun strakke vorm . Hoe dan ook, ik kon natuurlijk niet achterblijven, dus hier zijn de mijne.
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Spring – Lente
It was my intention to start blogging again ‘sometime in spring’. But spring was slow in coming this year. At least here in the Netherlands it has been very cold en windy most of the time. The animals however were not deterred by a bit of cold. At least for these frogs is was business as usual.
Het was mijn bedoeling ‘ergens in de lente’ weer met bloggen te beginnen. Maar de lente was dit jaar koud en waaierig en tot nu toe kwam mijn camera nog maar een enkele keer uit de kast. Deze kikkers hadden overigens nergens last van. Voor hen was het business as usual.
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JUST WATCHING... 