ALIEN

 

  The holidays are slowly coming to an end, but that doesn't mean the end of the photo season, which lasts all year round.

So I wander around with my camera, trying to find some interesting shots.

Unfortunately, I have to say that the number of insects (my favourite models) has dropped alarmingly. 

There is a terrifying silence in the meadows....

So when something finally appears, it automatically becomes my target – for photography, of course  😏.

Recently, while hiking, I became interested in wasps, which appeared in large numbers on the path, digging burrows in which they laid their eggs – on insects they brought from nearby grasses.

Then there was a series of strange encounters - including with... a panda and the titular alien - but more on that later :-)

And to start with, a butterfly - a red admiral (Vanessa atalanta), sitting on a tree trunk.

Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) 

Let's go back to the wasps.
I settled down with my camera, hoping for some interesting shots.
There are no spectacular photos, but I did wait for the moment when one of them brought an insect, pulled it into a burrow, and then buried it.

The wasps are mostly red-banded sand wasp (unfortunately, I don't know which ones).

I learned that the victims are alive but paralysed and serve as food for the larvae that will hatch from the eggs laid.

Wasps seem to have ADHD because they move like crazy - everything is fast.

I wanted to capture the moment when the prey was pulled into the burrow and... nothing.
The photos were taken in a series at a speed of about 5 frames per second.
Two consecutive photos - on one it is lying there, on the other it is gone!

A photographic horror. 

Maybe if it was my first missed photo, I would be disappointed, but such moments are unfortunately quite common, so I'm not despairing.
Then it started to bury the burrow and after that you can't really see where it was.
 

Another wasp flew to the burrow next to it - I only photographed its abdomen as it entered.

  Once it went in, it had to come out, so I waited and waited and waited.  

Finally, there was some movement. I was on high alert, barely breathing... And suddenly, a head appeared in the opening... A panda's head, seriously! See for yourselves!

I know it's the same wasp – that's what my head tells me, but my eyes see something else.

If you've read my previous posts, you know that my perception of the world is a bit different 😂.
I tend to see what I want to see 😊.

It's actually a European beewolf (Philanthus triangulum) also known as the bee-killer wasp – a wasp disliked by beekeepers – its victims are usually bees, which it paralyses and brings to its nest.

Returning slowly to the car park, I found two more ‘beetles’ busy with each other - these were grey weaver beetles (Charagmus gressorius). I took a photo and left them to ‘play’.

Grey weaver beetles ( Charagmus gressorius )

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed movement and a viper crawled out onto the path – I had been looking for one since spring, and here was such a surprise. Admittedly, the viper was the size of a pencil, but still, and quite a feisty one at that, as it tried to scare me.

When I reached the car park, I was sitting on a bench drinking water when I noticed movement in the grass. I went over and saw a beautiful insect, which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be... an alien (cover photo).

In fact, it's a Common Antlion (Myrmeleon formicarius).

Common Antlion (Myrmeleon formicarius)

Now, here's a fun game - imagine: in a few hundred years, an alien hunter finds this photo (title photo)?

It's blurry, but with a little imagination, it can be deciphered. They will immediately say that in the 21st century, humans had contact with aliens. Anyone disagree? 

😐😏

Photo: Marek Czubaszek