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Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa Violacea) & Flower Crab Spider (Misumena Vatia) on iris
My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
More TICINO/TESSIN Wildlife Photos (all taken in my garden in Monteggio/Ti, Switzerland): it.lacerta-bilineata.com/ramarro-occidentale-lacerta-bili... (the website exists in ESPAÑOL, FRANÇAIS, ITALIANO, ENGLISH, DEUTSCH)
My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (warning, it's a bit shocking): www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2-Xszz7FI
ABOUT THE PHOTO:
When I look at my (far too) tiny gallery of photos, it's hard not to note the fact that there is an abundance of green - and very little else colorwise. It's not that I don't have other photos with slightly more color variation, but I started out here a year ago with the idea of dedicating my entire Flickr page exclusively to the western green lizard (Lacerta bilineata), because that's also the main focus of my website of the same name.
But just as with the site - which now has an entire page dedicated to other fauna from the Lacerta bilineata habitat - I realized that it's more fun to present all the creatures big and small I find in my garden and its immediate surroundings. I still will continue to upload many more photos of my favorite green reptile, but it's variation that makes the world (and my garden) interesting, and the same goes for my Flickr gallery. I thought this gorgeous iris with its yellow and violet tones would fit nicely between all the green, and the two arthropods it hosts are both very typical residents of the Lacerta bilineata habitat.
The carpenter bee is obviously too much of a whopper of a meal for this tiny male flower crab spider (and it also comes with a sting ;-), and I guess if this were a cartoon you'd see a very relieved spider face and a huge "Thank you Lord!* in the speech bubble above it because this "Behemoth" of a bee landed on the other side of that iris :-) . But the carpenter bee might have gotten lucky too that it didn't meet the dwarf's old lady: female flower crab spiders are notorious for attacking and overwhelming much bigger prey than themselves, and although I haven't seen one catching a carpenter bee yet, I definitely wouldn't rule it out.
ABOUT THE SPECIES (from Wikipedia):
XYLOCOPA VIOLACEA is the common European species of carpenter bee, and one of the largest bees in Europe. It is also native to Asia. Like most members of the genus Xylocopa, it makes its nests in dead wood. It is not particularly aggressive, and will attack only if forced to.
These bees hibernate over winter and re-emerge in spring, usually around April or May. Hibernation is undertaken by the adults in wood where there are abandoned nest tunnels. In late spring or early summer, they may be seen around searching for mates and suitable nesting sites. After mating, the gravid females bore tunnels in dead wood, which is where the name "carpenter bee" comes from, although old nest tunnels may be used.
Like other solitary bees, the female creates the nest alone. The eggs are laid within a series of small cells, each of which is supplied with a pollen ball for the larvae to feed upon. The adults emerge in late summer then hibernate until the following year
MISUMENA VATIA is a species of crab spider with a holarctic distribution. They are called crab spiders because of their unique ability to walk sideways as well as forwards and backwards.
Females can grow up to 10 mm (0.39 in) while males are quite small, reaching 5 mm (0.20 in) at most. Younger females especially, which may hunt on a variety of flowers such as daisies and sunflowers, have a strong tendency to adapt to the color of the surrounding flower. However, the color-changing process is not instant and can require up to 25 days to complete.
Misumena vatia feed on common insects, often consuming prey much larger than themselves. They use venom to immobilize their prey, though they are harmless to humans.
Greetings to all of you, stay heathly and safe and have a wonderful weekend!
Wieder mal ein kleiner Ausflug von mir. Es geht zu einen kleinen Wiesenabschnitt zu schloßpark Benrath. Dann ab in den Wald und eine kleine Runden in den Blumenpark vom Schloß. Doch diesmal von der anderenseite der Geländers.
Once again a little trip of mine. It's a small lawn section to Castle Park Benrath. Then off into the Woods and a small round in the floral park of the Castle. But this time from the other side of the railing.
SONY DSC
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The Sanctuary of Santa Maria infra Saxa and the so-called Tempio di Valadier are two sanctuaries and chapel located at the entrance of the Frasassi Caves, a remarkable karst cave system in the municipality of Genga, in the province of Ancona, Marche, Italy.
So-called Tempio di Valadier
The sanctuary and chapel are located within a few dozen meters of each other, on a ledge entrance to the Frasassi cave system. The sanctuary is ancient; it is cited in documents from 1029. It is a simple stone structure built by Benedictine monks to house a burned image of the Madonna.
A Tempietto or small octagonal temple on the site was first proposed in 1817 by the future Pope Leo XII, who was originally from Genga. The white travertine structure, completed in 1827 after Leo had become pope, was long thought to have been designed by Giuseppe Valadier, and is still widely referred to as the "Tempio di Valadier". However, in 2016 a study of previously unexamined archives by Maria Cristina Cavola revealed that Valadier had absolutely nothing to do with the building: it was rather an accretive design to which a series of local architects and project managers made successive contributions. The chapel once housed a marble statue of the Madonna and child by the studio of Antonio Canova. The statue is now in the civic museum of Genga, and been substituted by a copy. When the Tempietto was built, a number of remains of skeletons were found in the opening of the cave.