A handsome boi!
Thank you, I love it!
So mossy. It's beautiful!
The spiny flower mantis is gorgeous. It looks more like a piece of fantasy art than a real insect. Surreal.
Also, is your link possibly wrong on the "like this"?
Oh my god, thank you for that video, it's fantastic. She's so cute! I never saw a real mantis and this is fascinating.
... According to observations.be, they are present (albeit very rare) in Belgium, so I guess you've started me on a new life quest. 📸
Everyone needs to head to that mastodon account because there is a whole series of amazingly adorable photo to pixel pieces!
The dots aren't following you around :) They're called pseudopupils. You're seeing down the "tubes" (ommatidia) of the composite eyes (heavy oversimplification because I'm no scientist).
A smarter person explains this here: https://www.readingeagle.com/2015/09/16/outside-some-insects-look-like-theyre-looking-at-you-but-are-they
This is so disheartening. The more into nature photography I get, the more I realise how smart and chill bees are and the more I love them. I hope research like this will lead to better protection, but I don't have high hopes...
"Did they see me? Naaah. I am perfectly hidden behind this tall grass!"
Such a beautiful area. I love that golden light.
Aw, thank you! I'm glad you like it!
Wallonia, Belgium, today.
I stumbled upon a plant covered with small bundles of aphids, and sure enough, upon closer inspection, it had a whole aphid farming operation going on, and ladybugs had found it.
The ant tried blocking the way but fell off. Hopefully it's okay somewhere. The aphids, unfortunately, will not be.
It later decided to make a fresh web, but with the sun on the wrong side so that wasn't ideal:
Trying out my new camera and lens. I didn't expect getting such good results with no practice on the R7, but it does 99% of the job.
Edit: Halictus scabiosae, identified through observations.be with 99% certainty.
What am I looking at? Except a very industrious little worker?
How do I go about figuring it out? Is there some reliable site that would allow me to refine by stripes and such? Thanks.
This is Wallonia, Belgium. I got a new camera, which allows me to get much more detailed entirely useless pictures! I was one with the bees for an entire hour, came home with 500 pictures, and this is the only photo I got of this one. The stripe pattern struck me, with the very sharp lines, but I have no head, no thorax, no nothing...
Done... a whiiiiile ago for a daily challenge
Wavre, Belgium, today ♥ I knew there were chaffinches in town, I hear their calls on the regular, but I hadn't managed to see one up close yet.
Finally. I kept hearing them and not seeing them. Very frustrating.
Very efficient killer. He didn't miss a single fish in the three hours I watched him, and he was also catching dragonflies as they flew by.
Han-sur-Lesse Wildlife Park, Belgium
I promise not to spam this community with random pics, but I adore common blues, and was delighted when I stumbled upon this. I somehow never see them in pairs. I figured I'd share!
Amazing scene! That must have been great to watch. Less so to hear!