COASTAL CREATURES ... Part One
Like every summer ... I spent many hot July and August hours ...
... of this strange 2020 ...
... wandering along the coastline ...
... observing the interesting plants ...
... and small invertebrates ...
... in various, slightly different habitats near the sea.
In this first part ...
... the things will revolve mostly around one plant ...
... the Euphorbia cyparissias ... that you can see on this double - portrait ... and was also present on every single shot you already saw in the post.
Although this common and widespread plant among the coastal rocks and nearby meadows will be in the center of focus ...
... the sunny summer walk through the local flora & fauna ...
... presented here ...
... will try to provide a wider view ...
... at one typical, about half kilometer long, stretch of coastline and its mix of plants and animals.
Here you can see the wild carrot plant (Daucus carota) ...
... and a cricket ...
... the Eupholidoptera chabrieri bush - cricket resting on one of its composite flowers. On another flower ...
... some hairy fly, I don't know the exact species, is resting in a strange vertical pose ...
... because its rest is kind of eternal ...
... this fly was surprised and caught by an almost invisible predator ...
... the Thomisus onustus crab spider ...
... well camouflaged on this lovely carpet made of minuscule flowers.
Meanwhile ...
... on the Euphorbia cyparissias plant ...
... this ant was wandering around the flowers ... is searching for nectar.
Here you can see a bunch of Allium rotundum flowers on the stony coastal terrain.
This wild onion species often grows near the sea ...
... and on this particular flower ...
... you can observe the brand-new bug ...
... a shield bug ...
... of the Carpocoris purpureipennis species ...
... emerging ...
... from its old nymph skin ...
... as a considerably different ...
... adult insect.
While the pale, slightly unfinished bug is resting on the wild onion composite flower ...
... let's take another look ...
... at the Euphorbia cyparissias ...
... where groups of Mordella aculeata beetles are feeding and mating ...
... and this small moth ...
... just landed to take a dose of nectar.
A bit later, on the wild onion ...
... the Carpocoris purpureipennis is still relatively pale ... but its wings and overall shape are completely formed.
Meanwhile ...
... back on Euphorbia cyparissias ...
... the Hippodamia variegata lady beetles were wandering around the flowers in search for aphids ...
... the crab spider Runcinia grammica was waiting in ambush ...
... some minuscule wasp was just resting ... or so it looked ...
... and another lady beetle ... much smaller than aforementioned Hippodamia variegata ...
... the Scymnus apetzi, was also patrolling the flowers.
On some small dry branch not far from there ...
... above the sea of wild carrot flowers ... the swallow was resting in between short, fast insect hunts.
This minuscule jumping spider ...
... I don't know the exact species ...
... in the desolate macro landscape ...
... of the limestone formations in the tidal zone.
This other small spider, also unknown to me, was running across the lichen - covered rocks a bit further from the sea, in the belt with short grass and many dried out plants ... and was very fast, very hard to catch and put on photograph.
This interesting plant that forms some kind of small green islands was also found there. Plantago subulata is the name of the species.
This is a detail from the Herniaria ciliolata plant, that was growing not far from there.
These are the small flowers of the Cakile maritima, photographed in the same area.
Euphorbia cyparissias was also present here ... just like further from the sea, on the meadows with much taller grass.
On this one ...
... you can see another bug species.
This time I don't know the name.
I regularly encounter a nice variety of small insects on this plant.
... this is some minuscule member of the Psyllidae family ... it's shaped a lot like Bactericera cockerelli - the potato psyllid ... but the color here is more intense and vivid.
The plant itself it's also pretty interesting and decorative.
Especially in macro view.
This laying branch has a nice pinky shades ... with yellow flowers on the top.
You can always find a bit of plastic garbage, here on the coast. This stuff doesn't look good most of the time ...
... but in this case ... the broken canister has somehow created an interesting little garden ...
... with thick soil ...
... and some young Chenopodium album sprouts. This juicy edible plant usually grows only on the rich soil of the nearby agricultural fields, not here on the rocky terrain near the sea. In fact that same soil, brought by the wind, ended up trapped between the small plastic walls. And now ...
... is time to take another look at the wild onion.
Do you remember the Carpocoris purpureipennis that just came out of the nymph stage? Well, now it really looks like an adult insect.
This ground beetle is hiding its head in the ground ...
... near the empty shell of some small, elegant land snail ... that looks a lot like something out of the sea.
This minuscule beetle... I have no idea about the species ... is resting on some dry straw.
This plant is also dry ...
... and in its trumpet - like shape you can see a small nymph of some bug unknown to me.
On this photograph the insect had enough photography for that day ...
... it was time to find some privacy deeper in the trumpet.
This tree cricket, the Oecanthus pellucens, has just exited the old skin ... and now is resting on the mature ear of grass filled with seeds.
This interesting grasshopper nymph, of the Acrida ungarica species ... is camouflaged in some slightly greener grass ... while the fly on the following photograph ...
... is resting on a completely green leaf.
This Chaetopteroplia segetum beetle is resting among tiny flowers of some other grass species in bloom.
Here you can see some different small flowers.
And now ...
... with the last look at the Euphorbia cyparissias plant ... is time to end this coastal journey. As always in these posts on HIVE, the photographs are my work.
@tipu curate :)
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The coastline is very beautiful and full of aliens from outer galaxies! I think they think you are the alien! Haha. You have no wings!! LoL
What I love the most are the ladybugs. And I took photos of that species here. Your white spider I never saw it before.
It is interesting how this white insect changes its skin. I thought there were two of them, a male and a female and then I noticed no, hahaha.
And then my greatest amazement, now he is an adult !! God how fast.
What beautiful photos all. Congratulations!!
well done love your post
!discovery 50
:) Thanks. Glad you like this summer report about local flora & fauna.
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