AN HOUR UNDER THE EVERGREEN OAK

Hi. My name is Borjan, and two months ago, on the 14th of October, I spent an hour under the tree. This is a post about that achievement.

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The tree in question is Quercus ilex. A Mediterranean oak that retains its green foliage all year round. You can see it in the upper right sector of this opening picture. You can also see here that the post will include some insects and flowers as well. If you take a good look at the surroundings of the tree shown in the photograph, you'll notice a long wall in the background. This is the outer wall of the archeological park Nesactium, a place with scattered remains of an ancient city.

These lovely flowers ...

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... were found and photographed on one of the Clinopodium nepeta plants ...

... that grew near the wall I mentioned before.

Here you can see a mix of herbaceous plants that, along with the grass, form the lawn under and around the tree. In the following photograph ...

... you can take a more up-close look at those plants.

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This is the Cichorium intybus flower.

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I found only one there on the lawn. Very close to that flower ...

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... I noticed a European mantis (Mantis religiosa). The mantis was just standing there, so after taking this photograph, I continued exploring the surrounding vegetation.

Here you can see the red dots of Ramularia rubella, a lovely plant pathogen on the leaf of the curly dock. (Rumex crispus). In the following photograph ...

... you can see two more dots of the same kind.

While I was exploring the Clinopodium nepeta plants ...

... and photographing their flowers, a bee came to feed. I thought that will be great to have a bee in the post but the insect was always moving from flower to flower, and I didn't have the patience to follow the action. So you won't see the bee buzzing around this plant today, but ...

... but at one point the mantis that I mentioned before, and that was waiting near the Clinopodium nepeta the whole time ...

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... came closer to one of the flowers situated low on the plant and caught the bee that was enjoying the nectar there.

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It all happened very quickly. In a blink of an eye, the mantis had the prey immobilized in its strong raptorial forelegs. I didn't have the macro lens ready, so I first took a couple of generic shots that aren't very good when it comes to showing the small details, but soon I managed to quickly prepare the macro equipment ...

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... and continue following the action through the lens that shows all the gruesome details and blurs the chaotic background. The first bites separated the head of the bee from the rest of the body, and then ...

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... the mantis ate a bit from the head and a bit from the thorax.

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However, soon the predator focused on the head only.

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As the mantis was chewing ...

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... the head of the dead bee was disappearing ...

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... relatively quickly.

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After the head ...

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... it was time to eat the wings and thorax.

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At this point, I got out of the macro view to show how well-camouflaged in its surroundings the mantis was while feeding. Such a small predator can easily become prey so being inconspicuous is very important.

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And now, while the mantis is still eating the thorax, I would like to take a break from this scene ...

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... and show you another plant that grew nearby. It's a type of grass this time.

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The Cynodon dactylon.

Here you can take a good, up-close look at its tiny flowers that are shaped a bit like some kind of Christmas decoration. In the following set of four photographs ...

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... the focus is on the mantis again. The wings & thorax are almost finished here ...

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... and the insect has climbed the stem ...

... of the dried-out Cichorium intybus plant that matches the shapes and colors of its body.

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In this triptych, the mantis has started chewing the bee's abdomen.

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The chewing is still going on in this set of eight photographs. Down on the ground, a meter or so from this scene ...

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... I found another mantis of the same kind.

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This is the wingless nymph of the European mantis.

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The young mantis was just standing there, well-camouflaged, so after taking a couple of photographs ...

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... I continued observing the adult one. At this point, the bee was gone ...

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... and the mantis was cleaning its forelegs.

The end of the post is near, I have only a few more photographs to show.

Here you can see a little red berry on some plant that I wasn't able to identify.

This is yet another portrait of yet another Clinopodium nepeta flower.

Here you can see the sepals of the same kind of flower that fell on the leaf of another small plant under the Clinopodium nepeta.

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In this final shot, the evergreen oak (Quercus ilex), is waving you goodbye.

The following links will take you to the sites with more information about some of the protagonists of this post. I found some stuff about them there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_ilex
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinopodium_nepeta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_mantis
https://uk.inaturalist.org/taxa/384093-Ramularia-rubella
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynodon_dactylon

AND THAT'S IT. AS ALWAYS HERE ON HIVE, THE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE MY WORK.

THE END