Ant's Jaws

I don't know to what particular specie belongs this ant, but looking at this older post of a wasp's jaw it's easy to understand that both ants and wasps belong to the same Superfamily: the Vespoidea from the order Hymenoptera.

La Mola and Montserrat in one image

This picture from Montserrat's monastery comes from the combination of the two pictures you can find below. To get it I used a photoshop gradient mask to softly transition from one image to the other. This allows me to preserve the best exposed areas from both images.

This picture is taken at 1/100 and f7.4 and gets the monastery's details but burns all the clouds

This picture is taken at 1/320 and f13 and gets all the rich details from the clouds but underexposes the monastery

Wind mills seen from Montserrat

In solidarity to this post I decided to put this picture from Montserrat were you can see at the end, between clowds, a wind mill farm delivering precious green energy.

To escape from green house effect we can't accept nuclear power as an alternative resource. Governments should penalize nuclear energy and promote R&D investment into solar energy and other green energy sources. Let's ask parties what they have to say on that topic.

Wild Clove Pink

Yesterday (Nov-11th) I was walking with my friend bufaforat (now we call anyone a friend) between Montcau and La Mola. We both got attracted by this small Clove that was blooming at the shadow of an oak. Through the oak some sun light was reaching the flower making it magically shine.

I read that this wild Clove blooms during spring and summer around the Mediterranean. So, can we call November a summer extension? Let's make us a favor: consume less!

-th

Find flower location in google map below:


Mostra un mapa més gran

Head or tail?

Nature is full of surprises. This curious caterpillars were ending with a wild rose, like a pest, they terminated with tho thirds of it's leafs. But what really draw my attention was the capacity they had to confound it's tail by it's head. It took me a wile to realize that what it seemed a threatening head it was in fact a floating tail.

Do predators get confused by this tail's shape and color? did this triggered a genetic advantage?

Mediterranean Tarantula

Lycosa tarentula ?

Tarantulas don't eat tomatoes. They don't wait for a pray there too. I artificially placed this beautiful specimen over this red pair of tomatoes. Is there something more Mediterranean?

Err... didn't tomatoes came from the new world? then why they are so linked to the Mediterranean diet?

Grasshopper, Walking Stick or something in between

This, even if it looks like a picture, in reality it's the combination of four pictures in one. Yes, I love pictures with a tight depth of field and this has a price to pay: most of my best shoots don't have some key details in focus. To solve this I typically take my best shoot and I crop some details from different pictures.

Is this a 'hideous fake' or a better way to reflect the photographer's vision?

But still, some of them survive

This huge butterfly, maybe 10 cm tail to tail, I believe is a Papilio Machaon. The butterfly that comes out of the pupae made by the Caterpillar I've been talking in last posts.

Even with a huge base of predators some of them survive to pass the genes to the next generation.

Picture was taken in Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park

Osmeterium, a caterpillar weapon

See in this picture the Osmeterium of the papilio machaon. We found by chance about this fleshy organ when with my brother we wanted to place the caterpillar of the picture on a fennel branch. The caterpillar quickly bended back and opened this antenna that include 'gland cells'. No wonder why it grows that much!.

I know the picture is really bad, but I didn't want to bother the poor caterpillar just that an amateur insect reported could capture a perfect shoot.

Wasp jaws

This wasp is from a different family than the one that made a gorgeous meal out of a poor caterpilar in previous post. But look at it's jaws!. Now I understand why it was so easy for the wasp to grab a pice of machaon's steak and fly avay so quikly.

The same wasp surprised me when it licked a rosemary flower. Where can it hide such huge tonge? and look at it's end, what are this antenna for?

Nature is amazing and we are destroying it all, so fast...

-th

Death in the fennel

I was following a beautiful Caterpillar of papilo machaon. I was fantasizing on finding it's pupa and view life it's butterfly's birth. I even took a high macro picture of one of its tiny spiracle that they use to breath. I was amazed when accidentally I found the osmeterium, the most bizarre defense organ I've eve seen. That Sunday, the osmeterium failed and a wasp that was scrutinizing the fennel up and down ended with my friend's life as well as with my illusions.

Master Free-Koh would bring 'Confucius' on board and talk about the rights of the wasp to exist. In any case, since that day that I took this picture I hate wasps!

-th

Praying mantis cleaning its antenna

Mom found this beauty in the garden. Conscious of my recent passion for taking pictures of insects she kept it in a box so I could take it on stage and run a photo shoot.

I wonder about the black spot they have on the eyes. This spot moves depending were they look at. Does anyone know how this composed eyes work?

-th