Tag: Insekter

Swallowtail – The Queen’s Butterfly

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I’m happy that this year’s first butterfly that I managed to capture was this special species,”The Queen’s Butterfly”. The dry blade of grass may be seen as a disturbing detail, but I decided to leave it instead of wasting time editing.

I was lucky to capture another one of these rare beauties. I read that the Swallowtail is Malta’s only endemic butterfly and its scientific name is Papilio machaon melitensis where melitensis shows that it is a Maltese species.

This species of butterfly, the Red Admiral is on the wing all year round and is relatively common here on the island. Regardless of being rare or common, it’s the same joy every time I manage to get a butterfly in front of the lens.

It doesn’t take much to feel joy in our everyday life.
Positive thinking!

Maltese wall lizard

Ta’ Qali, Trees, A Lizard, Resin & Fanny

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Some images from yesterday’s visit to Ta Qali. Many of the trees have recently been pruned. I was fooled by the orange spot that from a distance looked like a flower and I even saw some faces. In this fenced area I’ve been walking with Fanny since she was a puppy. Among Olive trees, Mediterranean Cypress and Ancient Carob trees. When the rain comes, the grass turns green and is then covered with flowers.

Sticky resin is now visible on many of the trees.
But how’s Fanny? Now that she is close to the seventh week of her pregnancy her behavior has changed. She’s not as playful as before, a bit melancholic and the walks are getting shorter and shorter while running is out of the question. Here she seeks shade under our car while I try to ventilate away the heat and turn on air conditioning before it’s time to go back home, a ride of about 20 minutes. Home to eat and then go to sleep. I love her so much ❤ ❤

Dragonfly part 2

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This is just another attempt to capture one of all amazing and valuable insects found in nature. Some appreciate them while others ignore or see them as a matter of course, they just exist. I myself am no exception, it was not until I started photographing that I realized the value of our nature and its inhabitants.

Flowers of The Day

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When I look at above images, I realize that they would probably fit better in a theme called “Today’s insect”.

So here I show some wildflowers that are found here in Malta, without any visible insect.Finally, Fanny, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a stunningly flourishing scenery.

Susan’s Flower on Fridays 
Cee’s Photo Challenge Flower of The Day

Dragonflies

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Often when I’m lucky enough to find a dragonfly that doesn’t fly, I have noticed that they put their wings forward towards the head, as if they were trying to protect themselves, or maybe they sleep.Regardless, it is an amazing insect that is usually seen flying by very quickly. Some are really big and shine in different shades of color. Maybe, I’ll succeed to capture at least one of them this summer. Never give up!

Hide and Seek with a Bumblebee

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    Don’t ask me why but I really love bumblebees and there are many to be found now among the flowers.

    Bumblebees are not as aggressive. Males cannot sting, and females only do so when they feel threatened.
    Bumblebees are excellent pollinators, they are in fact much more efficient pollinators than honeybees

    But they are not always so easy to capture as they usually hide half of themselves deep into a flower.Thanks for not hiding. Sometimes you’re lucky!

    Macro Monday

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    Most of you probably recognize this little insect. Graphosoma lineatum, Strimlus in Swedish, which is part of the family stink bugs, även kallad bärfis. Thanks to Google and Wikipedia for the information.

    They are often seen in pairs, especially on this kind of plant.A pretty special plant itself of the family Umbelliferae which looks completely different when it blooms.
    Here it almost looks like it’s full of lice but I might show some flowering images in another post.

    Macro photography A Colorful Insect

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    Photographing different kinds of insects is a fun and exciting challenge. Apart from butterflies and dragonflies which are not always easy to capture I’ve realized that there are a lot more in nature to discover.

    I don’t know what kind of beetle this is, there are too many species to choose from. I had some trouble getting sharpness on its head but it shines beautifully in blue-green and has colorful covered wings.An interesting little creature on its way through life.

    Flower on Fridays

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    This flower has a red-colored visitor with eight legs. It’s almost invisible but you’ll see it if you look closely.This visitor isn’t at all invisible and may take up more space than the flower itself.
    But you cannot miss these flowers different shades of the vibrant and lovely purple color.

    Susan’s Flower on Fridays
    Cee’s Photo Challenge Flower of The Day

    The Year’s first..

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    This is the year’s first dragonfly that I managed to capture with my camera a couple of days ago.
    It sat on the stick only for a few seconds before it flew away and disappeared. Bye, bye..I also managed to photograph a few butterflies. This is quite common but rarely sits still.
    Could it be an Green-veined White butterfly? It has green eyes.This is a colorful beauty and surely it gives you a sense of joy that at least now and then succeed in capture these unique little insects that are such an important part of our nature.

    Tired of running very fast in search of rabbits in Majjstral Park.
    Always waiting for me while I shoot.

    Fanny is always my companion. She’s the best, she’s curious, awake and very funny. We have a heat wave here on the island, almost 30 degrees so now we are heading to Il-Majjistral Park where we can take a dip in the sea. Take care! ❤

    Spring is in the air

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    Yesterday we went to Ta Qali Park. Usually we never go there on the weekends when the summer is over because there are too many people and you can’t have your dog without leash. But we were all alone.I haven’t been here for a while and was really surprised. It felt like spring even though we are in November! This beauty has a very special expression, perhaps it was also surprised that it felt like spring in the air.The sky was blue, the grass was green and there were lots of small yellow flowers.
    Fanny was more than happy to run around in the greenery without a leash. At first I didn’t notice that there were two butterflies on the leaf! A spider with its catch of the day.I saw lots of different kinds of butterflies, dragonflies and other kinds of insects. But as usual, they are very active and difficult to capture with the camera. I’m glad I got this one.Ta’ Qali National Park, Malta

    Welcome November

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    Typically November, the sky is gray, it’s thundering and it’s raining again.
    Days like these we need both color and flowers and not to forget, a happy mind. Susan’s Flowers on Fridays # 13. 
    Cee’s Photo Challenge.

    Autumn Feeling

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    Last Sunday we went to Il-Majjistral Nature Park here in Malta. We haven’t been here since last spring and it is always exciting to see how our nature changes, depending on the seasons. Now autumn is here.This is nothing to be found in the spring.

    These thistles have completely changed colors. Once purple, now turned into soft autumn colors.Our nature is absolutely amazing! This picture speaks for itself. As always, Fanny was with us. She loves to run freely in the large nature park with all steep slopes. She has seen wild rabbits here, now sniffing and looking for them. Luckily she never catches any, they are too fast.

    Sunshine’s Macro Monday.

    Macro Monday

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    The butterflies above are from my archive and I believe they were all photographed in Borneo’s rainforest some years ago. Maybe someone out there knows what kind of butterflies these are?Yesterday I saw this tiny dragonfly here in Malta but the beauty flew away too fast.
    Without my macro lens this time but at least I got a fairly good close up.
    Sunshine’s Macro Monday

    The True Reality

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    “There are some four million different kind of animals and plants in the world.
    Four million different solutions to the problems of staying alive” – Sir David Attenborough –    “Let us develop respect for all living thing. Let us try to replace violence and intolerance with understanding and compassion. And love” – Jane Goodall –“Ever since we arrived on this planet as a species, we’ve cut them down, dug them up, burnt them and poisoned them. Today we’re doing so on a greater scale than ever.”
    – Sir David Attenborough –

    “If we [humans] disappeared overnight, the world would probably be better off.”
    – Sir David Attenborough –Most of these photographs are archive images from my travels on Borneo while some are taken here in Malta.

    Dragon fly – The One and Only

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    I’ve only seen a very few dragonflies this year and those I’ve seen have flown by quickly. Certainly I was happy when I found this one sitting on a twig in Ta Qali National Park. I was worried it would fly away and therefore had difficulty adjusting the focus quickly, but I’m pretty happy anyway.

    Time for a break

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    I’m taking a break now, not sure for how long. Flying away from Malta tonight for two weeks.

    It really feels like I have to get away from it all right now.
    💕 Take care out there! 💕 “Sometime I just want to fly
    away from here…
                                                                    …as the bird fly before the winter.”

    Yellow Flowers

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    “Butterflies are self propelled flowers”
    – Robert A. Heinlein –
    “You don’t need to see the sunset to feel the warmth of its color”
    – Atticus –Has a bee ever landed on you, and instead of getting scared, you appreciate the possibility that you got confused for a flower.A Photo a Week Challenge: Yellow.
    Susan’s Flowers on Fridays # 3. 
    Cee’s Photo Challenge

    Friday’s thoughts…

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    It’s hard to believe that this creature will transform into a colorful moth. I’ve never seen such a big caterpillar. It’s about 15 cm/6 inches. Could be an Elephant Hawk-moth, Deilephila elpenor but I’m not sure.

     Now, that caterpillar was not yet colorful so here’s some sunshine from Ta Qali……where the grass was wet with dew.A spider’s web along with dew create a nice pattern. Nature is an amazing world to explore and we must all do what we can to preserve it. “We are in danger of destroying ourselves by our greed and stupidity. We cannot remain looking inwards at ourselves on a small and increasingly polluted and overcrowded planet.”
    —Stephen Hawking

    Food for thought can be that earth is home to millions of species, but just one dominates it.
    Wish you all a lovely weekend!“If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth,
    man would have no more than four years to live.”
    —Albert Einstein

     

     

    Taken by Surprise

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    Surely it’s surprising to discover what amazing bird species there are around the world. This one looks unique.When I saw this “sculpture” at a distance in Siracusa, Sicily, I was absolutely sure it was real. Until I came close and my dog began to nose around his feet. Then he couldn’t sit still any longer without laughing and he began to talk. I’ve seen many kinds of these players before but nobody as real like this one.
    A really fun and unexpected surprise.Shooting with the macro lens often gives unexpected surprises.

    It may be surprising to look at a fly with its amazing faceted eyes……or to see a hairy butterfly.

    Post inspiration:  Dutch Goes the Photo – Surprise

    Monday’s Malta pics

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    Macro photography is always fun and I guess this is a hornet, Vespa crabro, or Bålgeting as we say in Swedish. I see many of them now among our hibiscus on the terrace. Sadly, with fewer plants the butterflies are gone.The plant blooms but the leaves are more yellow than green. Perhaps more care and nutrition are needed. Finally, there are lots of spiders to find in Ta Qali National Park, this one is about two inches. More to come…

    The importance of Insects

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    Insects, flowers and pollen. A fantastic combination for reproduction, created by nature.“If we were to wipe out insects alone on this planet, the rest of life and humanity with it would mostly disappear from land. Within a few months”
    -E.O. Wilson-

    The Caterpillar Story…

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    Lovely butterflies! I’ve not seen so many of them this summer. I used to capture a lot among our plants on our roof terrace, which is now gone. These are from Sicily while those in the circles were taken in Malta.

    Thank you! I’ll will reply and I’ll visit your site, as soon as I catch up with my time. You are all precious!! Take care out there. Love from Malta 💕

     

    Away from it all…

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    We went to Sicily for a week, to get away from it all. Here we rented a villa, Villa Cristina, located in a rural area, but not too far from Siracusa. Simple yet cozy accommodation. The garden was huge and there were orange and olive trees, banana plants, grapes, tomatoes, chili peppers, herbs and much more. I love basil!Sweet tomatoes! I can eat Cherry tomatoes like candies!These bananas were not edible but the flowering herb was both decorative and exotic.
    Did you know that banana plants are the world’s largest herb!

    I have no idea what this may be.
    Olives
    Grapes, grapes, there were lots of grapes.
    Green sweet grapes
    Chili pepper
    Could be a kind of herb??
    Oranges, some were a bit too ripe.

    Above you see some images from the garden where we could pick and eat whatever we liked. There’s more to find in the garden and we did some trips with our car to a few towns and secluded beaches. More to come from Sicily in Italy!

    It was a long time since I felt as relaxed as during our stay in Sicily. Away from it all, away from the outside world. Perhaps something we all need from time to time, completely without any internet access.

    Summer shades…

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    It’s very dry now here on the island.These are seen on many dry plants right now, I’ve no idea why.A glimpse of Selmun church is seen in the background.Fortunately, there are some plants that survive the heat.On a Sunday in mid July, most people here in Malta choose to have fun on the beach, 30 degrees or swim in the sea, 26 degrees. I think I’ll do the same. Wish You a great Sunday, wherever You are on this planet. Splash!!! 

    Beetle

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    This little cute beetle stayed on the flower for quite some time so I had time enough to photograph at least one of all insects I’ve tried to capture recently, without success.When I take my camera with me I always have to choose between my macro or zoom lens depending on where and what I plan to photograph. I chose “wrong” lens this time but the pictures became pretty good anyway.I was going to add at the end, “…as long as you do not enlarge them” but my mind said no. We all try to do as good as we can and must be proud of our efforts to learn, give and share. Gratitude is a valuable gift.

    Seventh Heaven On the 7th Floor

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    It was on our roof terrace I took my first macro images.A few years ago we bought seeds in an attempt to grow rhubarb. But it didn’t succeed.

    Spiders! Click on an image to enlarge.

    It’s early in the spring and my dear man is cleaning while I take a selfie in the window of our office.

    I’m not sure how many different kinds of flowers we have had but these are some of them.

    One of my husband’s many fun experiments. Can you really fry an egg in the sun? Obviously!!Our terrace as it once looked and below, what it looks like right now. Yes, added some color. Our office, my dear husbands atelier and our dining room that we use every summer are gone after twelve years. Of our flowers and plants there are only a very few left and so are the butterflies and other insects. Looking at the stars in the sky and the moon that shine but this is not my Seventh heaven anymore. Fanny, Yeah, come on!!! Rock ‘n’ roll!!!

    All images in this post have I taken on our roof terrace over the years gone by…
    …apart from the last one.

    Shades of Red

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    Today I just want to spread some color!  My favorite flower and color, the Bougainvillea on top.A Flower fly is looking for nectar in the flowers of Ta Qali National Park.Color & flower.

    Butterflies that Surprise

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    Macro photography are challenging and exciting. This butterfly was hidden behind tall grass a windy day in Ta Qali Park and rarely stopped for more than a few seconds. I suppose this is a Wood White (Leptidea sinapis).I didn’t notice that it actually were two butterflies until I came home and downloaded the images to my computer. A happy surprise that often happens when shooting with macro. If these really are Wood White, I can always ask Brian. He knows a lot about different butterfly species and his blog is well worth visiting.

    Happy Macro Friday!

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    If all insects on Earth disappeared, within 50 years all life on Earth would end.If all human beings disappeared from the Earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish. Quote by Jonas Salk

    Cliffs haven

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    When exploring the nature in Malta you often see cliffs, cliffs, I see cliffs everywhere. And a clear blue sky.It makes me dizzy and instead of looking up, I take a look down, to find a busy bee.When I look up again, I see someone sitting on top of one of the high cliffs.Must be a great view up there while I got an amazing view from down here.Finally, for those who wondered if there aren’t any restrictions in Majjistral Nature Park. Here you are…