ALIEN

 

  The holidays are slowly coming to an end, but that doesn't mean an end to the year-round photography season.

So I'm wandering around with my camera, trying to find some interesting shots.

Unfortunately, I have to say that the number of insects (my favorites) has decreased alarmingly.

There's a terrifying silence in the meadows... 

So when something finally appears, it automatically becomes a target – a photo opportunity, of course 😏.

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

Then came a series of strange encounters – including with… a panda and the titular alien – but more on that later :-)

First up was a butterfly – the Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), perched on a tree trunk.

Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) 

Then back to the wasps.
I settled down with my camera, hoping to get some interesting shots.

There aren't any spectacular photos, but I managed to see the moment when one dragged an insect into its burrow, and then buried it.

The wasps are mostly red-banded sand wasp (I’m not 100% certain, unfortunately).

I learned that the victims are alive but paralyzed when they are brought to the burrows, and serve as food for the larvae that hatch from the eggs.

The wasps must have ADHD because they move like crazy—everything is so fast.

I wanted to capture on film the moment when the prey was dragged into the burrow, and... I failed.

The photos were taken in a burst at a speed of about 5 frames per second.

The next two—in one, it's lying on top of the other, it's gone!!!

A photographic horror. 

Maybe if this were my first missed photo, I'd be disappointed, but unfortunately, such moments are common, so I'm not surprised.

Then she started burying her burrow and afterward you can't really see where it was.

 

Another wasp flew into the nearby burrow – I only photographed the abdomen as it entered.

 If it entered, it had to come out – so I waited, waited, waited.  

Finally, there was some movement – ​​complete mobilization – I was barely breathing… And suddenly, a head appeared in the hole… Pandas – seriously! See for yourself!

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

If anyone has read my previous posts, they know that my perception of the world is 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 brings back to the nest, paralyzed.

Walking slowly back to the parking lot, I found two more busy "beetles" – these are (Charagmus gressorius). 
I took my photo and left– ​​let them “play.”

Grey weaver beetles ( Charagmus gressorius )

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed movement; a viper crawled onto the path – I'd been looking for it since spring, and what a surprise! Admittedly, this viper was only the size of a pencil – but still. And quite the brawler, too, because it tried to scare me.

After reaching the parking lot, I was sitting on a bench drinking water when I noticed movement in the grass. 
I walked over and spotted a beautiful insect, which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be… an alien (headline photo).

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

Common Antlion (Myrmeleon formicarius)

And now for the fun – imagine: in a few hundred years, some alien hunter finds this (headline) photo?

Blurry, but with a bit of imagination it can be read - so they could make the assumption that in the twenty-first century people contacted aliens - ? - Will anyone deny it??
😐😏

Photo: Marek Czubaszek