SUMMER IN MY GARDEN - Episode Four - PEPPERS AND MORE

Of all the plants I cultivated this summer in my garden, the peppers were the least visited by insects and spiders. But I did catch some species posing on the leaves. Furthermore, the fruits & flowers were pretty photogenic in their own right, so today, I decided to dedicate half of the title and a good chunk of the episode to those peppers.

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You'll see peppers, tomatoes, and some fascinating insects. Have a good viewing.

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This is Hermetia illucens, a fly from the Stratiomyidae family, commonly known as the black soldier fly. Adults like the one shown in this and the following photograph feed on nectar while the larvae eat various kinds of decomposing organic matter. Black soldier fly larvae are great at breaking down organic substrates and returning nutrients to the soil. I used the flash of my camera in this photograph. It was easier to get a sharp image with plenty of details that way, but ...

... but the dark shine of the black soldier fly can be properly admired only in the subdued ambient light. In the shade or on a cloudy day.

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Here you can see a spider from the Thomisidae family. A crab spider, in other words. The name of the species is Pistius truncatus. Its brown color and the texture of its exoskeleton surely make the spider well-camouflaged on the bark of the trees but here on the foliage provided by the pepper plant, Pistius truncatus is very well pronounced against the green backdrop. That's great for photography but it can present some problems when it comes to survival.

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In this photograph, partially due to the diagonal composition of the elements inside the frame, the pose of the spider looks kind of dramatic. Well, to me, at least. This species is common throughout Europe but I saw it only a couple of times, and only in my garden. I mean, when it comes to seeing the spider in person. Live. In nature, and stuff like that. I can see Pistius truncates whenever I want on the Internet.

Nezara viridula is a shield bug species introduced in the first episode of this series.

This 5th instar nymph was posing on the pepper leaf. The green sphere, only partially visible above the insect, is an unripe tomato. Tomatoes and peppers were growing very close to each other. The following scene ...

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... was photographed on a nearby tomato. You can see a 4th instar nymph and a wasp.

In this shot, the focus is on the wasp. The name of the species is Aridelus rufotestaceus. The family is Braconidae.

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The Aridelus rufotestaceus presented in today's post is a female ready to lay eggs.

The wasp was following the shield bug ...

... and I was following both insects through the lens of my camera. I found a few things about the Aridelus rufotestaceus, including its scientific name, only today, on the Internet. At the time, I had no idea what to expect of this species. But I had a strong feeling that something very interesting could happen at any moment so I spent almost an hour standing there in the garden, observing the scene. It was very exciting and extremely tedious at the same time. It wasn't easy but it paid off. With interest, I'd say. At one point ...

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... the wasp extended the ovipositor at the end of its abdomen to sting the shield bug and inject the eggs into the nymph's body, and I caught that quick action with my camera.

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The shield bug didn't seem bothered by what just happened. Nezara viridula is the favorite host for the incubation of Aridelus rufotestaceus larvae. When the larvae reach the time to turn into adults, they exit the shield bug's body to build a cocoon which will undergo metamorphosis. The damaged host soon dies.

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When this photograph was taken, the shield bug was walking away unaware of the inevitably grim future. A few minutes later, the wasp flew away.

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There is nothing spectacular about the pepper plants in my garden but everything is quite beautiful. Here you can see one of their beautiful flowers. In the following photograph ...

... I came closer with the macro lens, to show you all the details of the pistil and anthers in the center of the flower.

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The petals of one of the two flowers shown in this photograph are shriveled and ready to fall. That flower will soon be a fruit.

Here you can take a look at the young fruit ....

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... that will grow considerably bigger.

When it comes to their color, some ripe peppers in my garden are greenish-yellow ...

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... others are red.

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One of the two fruits shown in this shot displays a stylish combination of red and yellow.

This beautiful ladybeetle, photographed on the leaf of the same plant, reminds me of red peppers.

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The name of the species is Harmonia axyridis. The family is Coccinellidae, of course. Harmonia axyridis is native to the large area that includes all climate zones of East Asia but now, introduced as a pest control, is present in many places throughout the planet. It feeds primarily on aphids. The color is very variable in this species. The shape, size, and number of the dots also vary. The dots of the ladybeetle shown in this and the previous shot look partially washed out. Some are clearly others just barely visible on the vivid red background.

Here you can see a group of tomatoes in various stages of ripening.

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On the 1st of September, I saw a couple of small butterflies flying between the rows of tomato plants. Here you can see one of them resting on the dry leaf.

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In one of these two shots, the butterfly is showing the upper surfaces of its wings.

The name of the species is Cacyreus marshalli, it belongs to the Lycaenidae family.

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Cacyreus marshalli, commonly known as geranium bronze is native to South Africa. It was accidentally brought to Europe in 1978 and soon found its place in various wild and urban habitats. In the southern, Mediterranean areas which include my garden, the species started being recorded two decades later, in the late 90s.

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I saw this species for the first time a decade or so ago. I keep encountering these butterflies regurarely, every summer but I never noticed a Cacyreus marshalli anywhere outside my garden.

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This fly from the Agromyzidae family, can't tell you what species exactly this is, was resting on the leaf of the Chenopodium album plant that was growing among the tomatoes.

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Chenopodium album is an edible self-seeding weed whose soft young leaves can be eaten like spinach. In this photograph, a Nezara viridula nymph is posing on the leaf of that plant. In the following photograph ...

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... you can see the well-camouflaged adult of the same species.

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This Nezara viridula was photographed on the much larger leaf of the pepper.

This bug, found on one of the leaves of the same kind, belongs to the Nabidae family.

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If I had to guess, I would say that the name of the species is Nabis ferus. It looks a bit like that. I'm not sure in this case, and I don't remember seeing this insect before.

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In this wide shot, you can take a look at the corner of the garden in which red peppers were growing.

Here you can see another insect photographed on the leaves of those plants. It's a minuscule parasitoid wasp from the Braconidae family. With many related, very similar-looking species around, can't tell you which one exactly is this.

This sawfly is also posing on the pepper leaf. The name of the species is Arge pagana. It belongs to the Argidae family. I used the flash in this photograph. In the following one ...

... you can take a look at the same insect photographed in the ambient light.

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You can see a cluster of cherry tomatoes in the foreground of this shot.

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When I pick these small tomatoes, green little stars remain in their place.

That's the cherry tomato magic.

This tiny spider from the Theridiidae family was photographed on the leaf of the tomato.

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The name of the species is Anelosimus pulchellus.

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This is a 3rd instar nymph of the Halyomorpha halys shield bug.

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I came closer to the bug in this shot.

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This photograph was taken without a flash.

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Here you can see a group of 2nd instar nymphs.

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This is an adult bug of the same species. In the following photograph ...

... an adult Halyomorpha halys, commonly known as the brown marmorated stink bug is posing on the red surface of the ripe tomato.

Eupholidoptera schmidti is a pretty big bushcricket. Here you can see one posing on the tomato plant.

This bug belongs to the Rhopalidae family.

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Its scientific name is Liorhyssus hyalinus.

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The following links will take you to the sites with more information about the protagonists of this post. I found some stuff about them there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetia_illucens
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pistius_truncatus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nezara_viridula
https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Aridelus_rufotestaceus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonia_axyridis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geranium_bronze
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agromyzidae
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabis_ferus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arge_pagana
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/249289-Anelosimus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liorhyssus_hyalinus

I have three more links of a different kind for you today.
https://ecency.com/hive-140635/@borjan/summer-in-my-garden-episode-eb464586eb8b4
https://ecency.com/hive-140635/@borjan/summer-in-my-garden-episode
https://ecency.com/hive-140635/@borjan/summer-in-my-garden-episode-one-a-colorful-introduction-with-lady-beetles-and-tomatoes
They will take you to the previous episodes if you wish to go there.

AS ALWAYS HERE ON HIVE, THE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE MY WORK.

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