I love Hummingbird Hawk-moths: they beat their wings so fast, they can hover over a flower like a helicopter and suck the nectar out with their extremely long proboscis. When they search for a different flower, they roll their proboscis up into a spiral. When they fly past your head, they sound as if they have a motor running. They might look mean to some people, but they are perfectly harmless. In German, they are either called Taubenschwänzchen which means literally translated "little pigeon tail" or Karpfenschwanz (tail of a carp) but to me, their tail looks more like that of a shrimp and their face resembles that of a carp. And let's not forget the Hummingbird-like speed and flying style!
Tags: Hummingbird Hawk-moth Hummingmoth Taubenschwänzchen Karpfenschwänzchen Macroglossum stellatarum moth Motte Nachtfalter butterfly Schmetterling insect Insekt pollinator Bestäuber pollination bestäuben butterfly bush Schmetterlingsflieder white weiß
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Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) Kaisermantel
Tags: Silver-washed Fritillary Kaisermantel Argynnis paphia lantana Wandelröschen butterfly Schmetterling Tagfalter insect Insekt wing Flügel flower Blume blossom Blüte pollination Bestäubung pollinator Bestäuber
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Vineyard Snail (Cernuella virgata) - Sandheideschnecke
Tags: Vineyard Snail Cernuella virgata Sandheideschnecke thorn Dorne pest Schädling Aestivation Estivation
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Yesterday, it was cold and rainy outside. I didn't expect to snap any shots at all when suddenly my friend called me up, "Come upstairs and bring your camera!" So, I did as I was bid and he showed me a little immobile bee on the floor of the balcony. She wasn't dead for she was breathing and slightly moving her antennae. The cutie must have been overwhelmed by the drop in temperature and decided to go into torpor to survive. My motto has always been, 'There's no better photo model than a stone because it doesn't move and it won't complain'. However, with her body temperature and metabolism down to a minimum, the little bee was just as easy-going. After the photo-shooting session was over, we carefully placed the bee on a sheet of paper with some honey on it and took her inside. After a while she began to move and crawled to the honey. She sucked it up within seconds. Then, she started to fly toward the window and when we opened it, she flew outside and over the meadow. I hope she made it to her hive before a bird or a windshield got her!
;-)
Tags: Bee Biene honey bee Honigbiene Apis mellifera apidae portrait ocellus ocelli torpor brumation Kältestarre dormancy Dormanz dof depth of field Tiefenschärfe macro close-up Nahaufnahme Raynox DCR-250 Altertheim Oberaltertheim Germany Deutschland
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also called Striped Shield Bug, grows up to 12 mm long. While those who have an aversion to insects may go "yuck", bug lovers consider this species the most beautiful of all shield bugs. :-)
Tags: Minstrel Bug Striped Shield Bug Streifenwanze Graphosoma lineatum italicum Graphosoma lineatum
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