Bug Bonanza

My summers are usually spent looking for bugs, as birds are hard to find and photograph, the weather is too hot for herping and the bugs are out in full flow. This year, for the first time, i spent time looking for fireflies (Lamprohiza splendidula). The fenomenon happens to take place fairly close to my girlfriends place and i was absolutely smitten after the first attempt. Few things rival the magical looks of these little critters, slowly coming to life about half an hour after sunset. After about 45 minutes, the forest suddenly goes dark again, as if nothing happened. Such an incredible experience! After a few attempts, i got a couple images that i'm quite happy with.

The search for stag beetles was less succesful. I did find several individuals, but all in unattractive locations when it came to photography. A lesser stag beetle cooperated a little better, allowing me to play with light for a bit, resulting in an image that visually matches up well with the firefly images. Maybe later this year I'll get a chance for better images of the stag beetles, but the bug season has been pretty good so far.

A day on the Veluwe with one of my best friends, looking for snakes, went rather unsuccesful when it came to snakes. The day was a big succes when it came to laughs and bugs tho, allowing me to photograph bee wolves (Philanthus triangulum), Cerceris arenaria and a beautiful cuckoo wasp (Hedychrum nobile). The bee wolves and C. arenaria are parasites, the species respectively preying on bees and weevils. The cuckoo wasps are brood parasites of the parasitic wasps, preying on their larvae, this species of cuckoo wasp especially preying on the larvae of C. arenaria!

Looking for aquatic critters in the sea near Zeeland delivered very low numbers of anything interesting, but an awesome nudibranch (Aeolidiella glauca) was a very cool surprise, so i included that image in this blog aswell.