SUMMER ADVENTURES - Episode 39 - ON THE ROAD ... for the Butterfly Day and Insect Day Giveaway - Week 45

In this series of posts, till now, I showed many aspects and details of the coastal bush and meadows here in the Southern part of Istra peninsula, in Croatia. To get to those places and take the pictures, I spend a lot of time every spring and summer, walking the narrow dusty roads that lead to the sea, and now, finally :D here is a post about those little winding roads and surprising things you can encounter there. I mean, not left and right along the road - but exactly on the road, the open space area that flows like a river surrounded by jungle.

These big grasshoppers, Locusta migratoria, are often mating right in the middle of one of those paths. Since not all the human visitors here are pedestrians ... cars, motorcycles and beach buggies are also passing this way ...

... there are always some casualties ... and for the Chabrier's Marbled Bush Crickets (Eupholidoptera chabrieri) ...

... the grasshopper losses - are a big gain ... usually, I see them feeding on coastal plants, often chewing some pretty thick and resilient vegetable material with their big and strong mandibles ... but if there is an opportunity ...

... this crickets will become voracious scavengers ... and their strong mandibles are a very versatile apparatus, that serves this carnivore situation equally well. I f you put this cricket on your hand, or if he somehow goes on you, they will often bite you ... and you can see that this is not a defensive bite, but some sort of gastronomic curiosity, they will try to eat you. It hurts, believe me. :D But I'm so fascinated by their reckless voraciousness, that I sometimes let them do the bite on my hand if I want to show someone how these crickets behave.

Anyhow, enough Locusta migratoria grasshoppers will do their reproductive thing successfully, and in time, nymphs like this one on the picture, will jump around the coastal roads and meadows. As you can see on the following photograph ...

... these grasshoppers come in two versions, green and brown, and here is a mating of the two. The green ones are practically invisible in the mix of fresh and dried out grass that surrounds the road ...

... but here In the dust, the brown ones are better camouflaged. And when the time comes for the females ...

... to deposit the eggs ... these roads will be a place of their choice. And when the short summer night replaces the day ...

... another mother enters the scene ...

... the very large female of the Mediterranean Wart - biter (Decticus albifrons). As you can see, some are born on these roads ... and some, end their lives here. And those roadkills ...

... are actually the main factor of attraction for the inhabitants of the surrounding areas. This European firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus) is feeding on some other bug species. He enjoys the easy meal in a much different way from the crickets, by using the proboscis to suck the body liquids instead of chewing.

This daddy long legs (Phalangium opilio) on this, and the following two photographs ...

... is eating a small beetle.

This was the first ... and only time ... I saw the Harvestmen in this scavenging situation.

The relatively slow crawling beetles are among the most usual victims of the summer traffic. Many species have to cross the roads from time to time. On this photograph is the Black wine weevil (Otyorhynchus sucatus)

 This is the Pentodon bidens beetle, I don't know the common name, not even in Croatian, maybe it doesn't have one ... but is a very common insect in this area.

Here on the photograph is the Capnodis tenebrionis, one of the Jewel beetles ... and on the following picture ...

... is one species I newer saw in the roadkill version. Probably because this is a very fast beetle. And a large one too. Carabus coriaceus. One of the many ground - beetle species. A fast hunter ... and this is its hunting ground. 

Last summer, after a very long time, I noticed this little pest. The Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) ... and I felt a breath of America for a moment :D ... I didn't saw these beetles since my childhood. I remember walking the potato lanes with my grandpa ... collecting the beetles to destroy them, it was a funny and interesting beetle hunt, a bit like a video game on the open air.

There is always something interesting to observe, here on the road. 

The lovely European peacock butterflies, often rest on this warm and sunny open areas. Or you'll come across some interesting spider ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWFjO3fPjFE

... like this funny little jumping one :D threatening ... or exploring, my lens. I don't know the exact species. 

Bigger spiders, like this one, can also be seen passing through here ... and sometimes, at dusk ... or during the night ...

... you can encounter the giants ...

... the wolf spiders ( Hogna radiata ).

This is the female ... 

... and she is caring the offspring on her back.

Snails and slugs are also on the road at night.

The hot summer day somehow caught this snail on the open road, before he reached some quiet, hidden place in the shade. 

Here you can see the shiny trail the snails has left in the dust.

These small assassin bugs ... I don't know the exact species ...

... are preparing for the mating in the dust ... and on the following two photographs ...

... it's a larva with the interesting shelter ... which is her own creation.

... and here again - I can't tell you the species. I have no idea on what will this creature look like after the metamorphosis. And while talking about the species I don't know almost nothing about ...

... it's a good opportunity to present you this black beetle that nicely fits that category.

The very big Anacridium aegyptium ...

... is another grasshopper species ...

... that lies eggs here on the road.

This is a much smaller species ... and I don't know which one exactly ... there are many similar grasshoppers of this general shape and size here in the area, so finding out the exact species it's a daunting task for a non-professional like me - after the 10 minutes search on internet, I gave up.

The same text can be applied to this picture too ...

... and to this one as well.

Here is a temporarily unknown fly. One of those species that look like bees ... but is not the Eristalis tenax, the very common drone fly, is vaguely similar ... but I can't tell you which species this one is.

This interesting little monster ...

... in the desert landscape ... in these shots that look a bit like something taken on the planet Arrakis ...

... is the common pill woodlouse (Armadillidium vulgare)....

... and on the following picture ...

... is one of the much smaller Armadillidium species. They are a common encounters at dusk, or even earlier, if the day is cloudy ... which happens relatively rarely here in Summer.

The roads are usually dry and dusty for pretty long periods.

At some points, the roads are winding under the big old pine trees ... and this is the look at one of those areas.

This very resilient plant ...

... covers some of the hardest, driest and sunniest segments of the road.

The seeds from the surrounding grass often end up here ... and sometimes ... somehow ... they get rotated, leaving these interesting circular marks in the dust.

This common European mantis (Mantis religiosa) is another visitor from the neighboring grassy fields. 

The very common European hedgehogs often patrol these roads ... especially at night ... and if you're lucky ...

... maybe you'll see a weasel (Mustela nivalis) jumping around.

Sometimes you can see what looks like another little road crossing the already small dusty road along the coastline...

... ants ...

... a very active road crew ...

... they are mostly collecting seeds ...

... and other vegetarian stuff ...

... in this dried out place ... but occasionally ...

... they also attack other animals along the way. The roads look like this for most of the summer ... but this is not a desert ... and short rains arrive from time to time ...

... transforming the place ...

... and creating new dangers ...                             

... for some of the characters in this post ...

This ant is trying to drag another, dead ant ...

... but then runs for safety alone. A pretty dramatic little scene.

This small jumping spider, Evarsha jucunda, is walking on water with ease ...

... but this fly of similar size has drowned.

I saved this assassin bug after taking the shot.

Things went the same with this cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha)

This grasshopper in the shallow water wasn't in any danger.

The snails like humidity ...

... but if the pool of water is deep enough ...

... they can easily drown ... so the snail on these pictures, is actually fighting for his life ...

... and this time ...

... he survived. The earthworms ... who also love the rain and use days like this to move above ground ...

... can get in the same sort of troubles in these pools. This one didn't make it.

But these short rains don't bring only troubles ...

... they bring some opportunities as well.

These small flies glide upon the surface and feed on the algae and bacteria that grow in the warm, stagnant water.

These small bees use the mud around the pools ...

... to build these incredible chimneys above their nests.

Sometimes the bees get too wet and dirty and help each other to get rid of the mud. 

The water also brings much-needed refreshment to the vegetation ...

... and some new plants will soon appear.

The water in collaboration with the surroundings, also creates ...

... some pretty poetic reflection that can wake up the imagination ... here you can see the distant sun, deep inside the shallow pool ...

... and now ...

... with these images ...

... of one of these pools slowly drying out ...

... and the closing shot ...

... with the voracious Marbled Bush Cricket eating another of his own species that died on the road ... is time to end this little journey through the small roads that lead to the sea ... as always in these posts on Steemit, all the photographs and video materials - are made by me ... THE END.

[//]:# (!steemitworldmap 44.811271 lat 13.995070 long  d3scr)