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Didn't think I had a shot this afternoon, almost formatted but downloaded anyway for something else.
Not what I expected to find on a nacturnal foray. this bee was resting in a bark crevice at the base of the big Cefn Ila oak. I would love to get it identiified but bees are out of my remit.
Red-patch Epitolina with scale insects (and ants)
What else apart from flower nectar, fruits, mud and dung can indulge a butterfly for as long as possible???
The Red-patched Epitolina is one of the most common butterfly that has been observed at almost all the visits to the Lekki Conservation Centre in Lagos. It is evidently a forest species, perpetually living under the humid canopy of trees of the swampy habitat. Butterflies are generally delicate insects, but this species is in fact a paradigm of delicate, given its small size and scaly appearance.
There were a handful active butterflies encountered during the leisure walk. Most of them sailed by, beating their wings ever so softly. Fortunately, this Epitolina was the only one found idling on a small branch of a tree over the railing of the boardwalk. It looked like a funny black and red ribbon attached to the tree. This was not a flowering tree, so the presence of the butterfly here was questionable.
In this scenario, butterflies at rest would take flight when approached. But the case was different with this one. When I leaned close with my camera, it began to fan its wings without leaving the spot. The closer I got the harder its wings moved. It was puzzling what made this butterfly unrelenting. There were no immediate clues in the drama that was gradually unfolding, until I calibrated my compact for a properly focused macro. The lighting in this forest environment was tricky so I had to adjust to manage the back-light beaming from the forest canopy...
On the branch where the butterfly was rested were also some small seemingly negligible details. There was a small cluster near the legs of the butterfly, a few others were in the periphery of the branch. The small cluster of details were on closer observation found to be scale insects. The other black details were small black ants. They appeared to be nursing the smaller immobile insects. The whole time, the butterfly had its proboscis flailing about the positions of the scale insects as if imbibing a fluid secreted on their bodies. The butterfly fans its wings vehemently, and have its abdomen extended outward suggested to be a defense technique to ward off whatever attempts to come between it and its honey pie.
Custom Mega Munny for Pinkghost Bricks and Mortar closing party December 10th available for purchase at: www.pinkghost.net
About 2mm width, hiding under an old log.
Think it's a springtail Dicyrtomidae - Globular springtails