nature photo update

photos have started to pile up here. this is a mix of the past month’s nature related photos, enjoy!

an ichneumon fly and its victim

to explain this photo: i’ve been very lucky to come across an ichneumon fly attacking its victim, a …fat green caterpillar. despite their size, it seemed like a brutal fight – the caterpillar trying to shake the fly off while it was stung several times.
the reason for this attack: the ichneumon fly (schlupfwespe; ichneumonoidea) injected the caterpillar with eggs from which the parasitic larvae will hatch. they essentially eat the caterpillar alive. isn’t life wonderful?
unfortunately, when i had my camera ready, the fight itself was already over.
 

[view photos: nature photo update]

3 thoughts on “nature photo update

  1. WOW. that butterfly’s antennae(?) are so magnificent!

    how can you tell it’s male? and where was his wife?

    and yes, i’m so proud of your super-pink flower (pretty!!)

  2. eric: thanks :)

    caro: you can tell because of the well-developed antennae (!). only males have them; they need them to find (smell) the females…

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.