SUMMER DAYS IN THE FOREST - part two ... for the Amazing Nature Contest - June 2020 - #05

One of the amazing things about the forests here in my area, in this hot and dry period, is the feel of emptiness ... especially around noon...

... you can hear a lot ... the birds are singing many melodies, the cicadas are very loud ...

... but everything is well hidden and camouflaged, so at moments it feels like no animal is there, just some machine that plays audio illusions.

It takes time and concentration to find the small inhabitants ...

... and some of them are surprisingly colorful ... like this Lilioceris lilii ... that feeds on various plants of the Liliaceae family ... so is present in many gardens too.

Crematogaster scutellaris ants are hunting and scavenging on the trees.

Moths are resting in the shade, waiting for the dusk.

This green crab spider ... that looks like a green version of the Goldenrod spider ... is waiting in ambush, near the small shelter made of folded leaves secured with a bit of silk.

In the grass under the tree, I found another interesting spider. This one folds the blades of grass, constructing simple but effective shelters, and hides on the lower surfaces of the leaves.

This is a shot taken from underneath.

I took these photographs about two weeks ago, and this was the first time I noticed this species and its engineering.

This species makes orbs between the stems of grass ... or slightly above, on the lower branches of some trees.

Here is another species I found on the grass around the trees. This poor spider isn't in the best shape, he lost some legs, and the future for him doesn't look bright.

This species of the Oxyopidae family is very widespread, it's a common encounter in various habitats.
(Enlargeable)
This one has caught some small wasp.
(Enlargeable)
Probably one of those wasps responsible for various interesting protuberances on the deciduous trees ... although I don't know the exact species.

There is a nice variety of protuberances on the leaves.

They often look like elegant sculptures.

This is another type of elegant and mysterious shape ... that hangs from the lower surface of a leaf ... I saw it only once, a few weeks ago.

It looks like some egg ... egg pod ... cocoon ... I don't know which small arthropod produced this.

Some seeds have cool shapes too ... and look a bit like insects ...

... ready to fly away. Most of the seeds on this tree form flat pair of two that look like dragonfly wings ... or something like that ... but ...

... some form this different structure ...

... with three wings.

These look like small, elongated leaves ...
(Enlargeable)
... but they are also seeds.

You can also find interesting stuff on the ground, hidden in the thin layer of fallen leaves ... like this small, hairy cricket, ad example ...

... or a pair of Armadillidium vulgare.

They are very common, I see them regularly around my house and garden, so usually I don't feel very inspired to photograph them ...

... but this time I had the vague sensation that something interesting is going on ... or it will, soon.

And in fact, I had the opportunity to photograph the mating a few minutes later.

You never know what you'll find when you go on Macro hunt, that's one of the many great things about this hobby.

This jumping spider ...

... is running up and down his territory on the small, young oak tree on the border of the forest.

I found this minuscule moth on the same tree ...

... but this was a bit later ... at dusk...

... when many small moths ... of various species ...
(Enlargeable)
... started their activities around the woods.

The approaching night brought also many Bush - crickets and their nymphs on the open ...

... and I found this corpse of the Scorpion fly Panorpa communis.
As always in these posts on HIVE, all the photographs are my work.