The shiny biological jewels on the following picture ...
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... are rosemary beetles (Chrysolina americana) ... a mating pair of these remarkably colorful insects ...
... photographed on one of their favorite host plants - the lavender. This is the Lavandula x intermedia, a hybrid cross between Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula latifolia ...
... and one of the most common decorative plant in the open urban spaces here in my area. Places like the one on this photograph ... a parking lot between the largest supermarket in my small town and the main road that leads to the nearest city.
Despite the word americana in its scientific name, the rosemary beetle is a native insect here... I mean, in the Mediterranean region in general ... and the host plants of this species are among the most iconic plants of that area ... rosemary ... lavender ...thyme ... all very aromatic and beneficial stuff.
I took these shots yesterday, after the usual weekly shopping. The day was bright and warm, There was nothing frozen in my bags, so I decided to award myself with a little parking lot adventure in macro, an outdoor exploration for a change, after all that indoor dungeon crawling through the consumerist labyrinth made of shelves and prices.
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The small cabbage white butterflies (Pieris rapae) were flying around the lovely flowers with strong perfume ...
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... and a bit bellow, in the dense lavender growth ...
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... I found a large paper nest of the Polistes gallicus wasps.
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Also here on lavender, but up, on the top of the stem, some potter wasp species has built a different kind of nursery ... but I don't know exactly which wasp has built this cool thing made of mud.
Not far from the lavender ...
... on the large and beautiful prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) ...
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... the wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) was enjoying the sun ...
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... protected by a multitude of hair - like thorns. They are not a problem for the lizard's hard scaly skin ... but I always have some scratching skin problems after these parking lot expeditions :D ...
... unlike this Eropean mantis (Mantis religiosa) ...
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... that can move comfortably around here.
This Aiolopus strepens grasshopper is observing the surroundings ...
... from the long and large leaf ...
... of the exotic yucca plant ...
... another green parking lot decoration that attracts interesting small animals.
Here you can see the Crane fly, Tipula paludosa ...
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... hanging on the same plant.
Also here on yucca ... I found these larvae ...
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... of the asian ladybeetle Harmonia axyridis. I didn't saw any adult around ... but ...
... I found some adults of another, much smaller ladybeetle species native to this part of the world ...
... the Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata.
And now ...
... with the last few shots of the Chrysolina americana from the beginning of this post ...
... is time to end this little parking lot safari. As always in these posts on HIVE, the photographs are my work.
How much life on such a small gorgeous plant ... with those beautiful insects, wasps, lizards, mantises ... more romance, let the specimens make love, let them multiply.
:)
:D
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This is amazing! Never knew you could find so many nice insects and lizards in a parking lot!! LoL
This just tells us that plants are very important to life! No matter how big or small a plant is!