SPRINGTIME IN LIM BAY

Lim bay or The bay of Lim is a long and narrow bay on the western coast of Istra. More or less halfway in between the seaside cities of Rovinj and Porech, and about sixty - seventy kilometers from my hometown.

(Enlargeable)

I visited this place many times through the years, but always in autumn or winter ...

... so, the atmosphere that I encountered today, was new and exciting to me.

(Enlargeable)

This small spider from the Lycosidae family ...

... can't tell you the exact species, but the genus is definitively Pardosa ...

... was photographed on the wet mud of the intertidal zone at the end of the long bay that looks like a river.

(Enlargeable)

It's cool to see a spider in an environment that looks more appropriate for crabs.

In this photograph, the spider is cleaning one of his legs.

(Enlargeable)

Here you can see a leaf that has fallen in the same mud, probably in winter, and now is rotting there.

A meter or two further ...

... I found the remains of an older, partially dissolved leaf that looks like a fossil or something that will maybe become a fossil.

I spent the entire morning in the muddy inlet at the end of the Lim bay.

Here you can see the still fresh, green leaf that has fallen from the elm tree right into the shallow, brackish water.

Not far from that leaf, on the humid pebbles on the edge of the water ...

(Enlargeable)

... the Apis mellifera ligustica honey bees were enjoying the salty minerals.

Here you can see the dried-out fruit of the elm tree that ended up on the salt marsh vegetation underneath.

In this photograph, you can take a look at the fruit-covered branches above my head.

Here you can see one of the many small flies ...

... that were running all around the intertidal zone.

(Enlargeable)

I wasn't able to identify the species, but I'm pretty sure that this is some seaweed fly from the genus Fucellia in the Anthomyiidae family.

This small moth with long antennae was photographed on the Asparagus acutifolius plant ...

... in the refreshing shade ...

... under the trees. Mostly Field elms (Ulmus minor).

(Enlargeable)

On one of the relatively big stones in that part of the inlet ...

... I found two insects ...

(Enlargeable)

... a beetle and the bee.

(Enlargeable)

The beetle was slow and quiet ...

(Enlargeable)

... and the bee was actively crawling around it, busy exploring the humid surface.

(Enlargeable)

Later, at home, after a quick Internet search ...

... I found out that this is the Andrena fulva mining bee.

(Enlargeable)

To identify the beetle, I didn't need the Internet. I recognized the Cetonia aurata immediately.

(Enlargeable)

These beetles are usually metallic green on the upper surface of the exoskeleton, and metallic violet on the opposite, lower side. On a few occasions, I found inverted variations. Violet on the upper side, green underneath. But never before have I seen a Cetonia aurata like the one in these photographs. Green and violet on the upper side.

(Enlargeable)

From time to time the bee was crawling across the beetle. Cetonia aurata didn't seem bothered by these close encounters.

(Enlargeable)

Here you can see the bee cleaning its antennae.

On another stone surrounded by shallow water ...

(Enlargeable)

... I found a small, long-legged fly.

This is some species from the genus Chrysosoma. The family is Dolichopodidae.

Here you can change the perspective for a moment. Get out of the muddy macro view ...

... and take a good look at the green vegetation on the hills around the bay.

At one point, I noticed some interesting, worm-like shapes ...

... on the same muddy shore ...

... under the trees.

Some of those elongated things were mixed with the fruits fallen from the elm trees.

When I take a better look ...

(Enlargeable)

... I noticed that some of those "worms" are still hanging from the branches of a tree. These are actually clusters of minuscule flowers of the Ostrya carpinifolia tree.

A minute later, I found even more interesting stuff on the mud and leaf litter under that tree.

This inchworm caterpillar ...

... it's a larva of some moth from the Geometridae family.

A sea sponge brought by the tide was laying nearby ...

... surrounded by leaves and flowers fallen from the tree.

I found many coastal isopods here.

They found a nice, humid shelter under the leaf litter.

This small nymph of some bushcricket ...

(Enlargeable)

... was photographed on the lower branches of the tree.

AND THAT'S IT. SOON I WALKED TO THE CAR AND DROVE BACK HOME TO ORGANIZE THE PHOTOGRAPHS AND PREPARE THIS POST. AS ALWAYS HERE ON HIVE, ALL THE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE MY WORK - THE END.