I'll start this story with a ladybug in the strange blueish space, that looks too flat, tidy and empty to be natural, almost like a fabric of a piece of clothing or a bag.
But it's a leaf.
Long and large leaf ...
... of a reed.
One of the many that are growing in line, following long stretches of the coastline.
There is always some humidity here, early in the morning.
Even on the hottest and dustiest summer day.
Beautiful pearls of water are formed on these long leaves.
And the place is filled with hungry mosquitoes.
More than one species. Like this lovely tiger mosquito, feeding on my hand.
Or this, more common one, on my leg.
:D or this beautiful red one ...
... already filled with my blood.
With the day getting hotter fast, the mosquitoes and droplets soon disappear from the scene ...
... and we can concentrate on other things ... like ladybugs, ad example ...
... and ants ...
These black ants are patrolling on some leaves and shepherd the aphids that feed on the reed.
But the ants can't control everything ...
... and on some other leaves ...
... out of the ants' territory ...
... the ladybugs can eat the aphids freely.
While some ladybugs are eating on these rich hunting grounds filled with aphids ...
... some others are mating.
... and if we go down, following the stem of the reed ...
... down to the dusty terrain on wich, these plants are growing ...
... we'll find different scenes in a much different setting ...
... it looks like a desert ...
... and something is moving through the dunes ... well camouflaged on this terrain ...
... a bug ... shaped like a little shield.
And very near ... this fast and aggressive beetle has caught a bumblebee.
There is something else, also well camouflaged and hard to define, moving here, between uniformly colored desiccated plants.
Only when it comes on the open, we can clearly see that is a spider ... and that has a bunch of small young spiders on the back.
If we go back, up to the leaves, we'll find different kinds of spiders.
Like this, pretty large, one.
Or this crab spider ...
... looking very lovely and decorative with this yellow color ...
... waiting on the stem near the top of the reed ...
This other, very different, species ...
... is usually found way up, in the tops of the reeds.
Occasionally on the leaves, you can find a snail, firmly closed in his shell covered with dust, waiting for the night to continue his slow feeding march.
But sometimes ...
... and it happened yesterday ...
... when short and sudden summer rain ...
... showers the reeds ...
... the snails ...
... big and small ones ...
... can invade this place in the middle of the day.
... this happens rarely ...
... and when it happens, doesn't last long ...
... and the snails soon retreat to their shelters.
The atmosphere is again hot and dusty ...
... and the leaves are filled with other inhabitants ...
... crickets.
Hordes of young crickets are crawling and jumping around this place.
And they are not of just one species.
If you like crickets ...
... or if, for some reason ...
... you are particularly interested in them ...
... you can find a fine variety here.
And now ...
... imagine that the day is almost over ...
... groups of white butterflies are flying around like snowflakes ...
... seeking shelter in the reeds ...
... preparing for the night rest ...
... little green moths are beginning to show on the leaves ...
... getting ready for their night activities ...
... and if you look down again ...
... on the dusty terrain ...
... that looks like a little desert ...
... you'll see an ancient creature ...
... moving like a little trilobite through the dunes ...
... a roly-poly :) She will also be active during the night, safe from the strong sun. The night will soon fall, but this is not the end of this post.
Let's see some more things that are happening during the long summer day.
Some humans, ad example, like the author of this post, are taking advantage of the abundance of reeds to build little houses on the beach :D
And some moths get caught in the spiderwebs.
In some places ...
... the morning glory plants are growing under the tall reeds ...
... and there are numerous big white flowers ...
... scattered around.
It's a great summer decoration.
With all that blooming, looks like some celebration is gonna start here soon.
But let's go back to the reeds.
On these long and large leaves...
... you can find many species of flies ...
... like this little gray one.
Or this one.
A pretty big and aggressive hunter.
Here is in a characteristic pose, with one leg up.
Or this one. Also a hunter. But much smaller.
Or this species ...
... with lovely fur.
And then ...
... there is this black one ...
... and this other strange little one ...
... yap :) a lot of flies.
And you can find some beetles too. The ladybugs are present here in great numbers.
This one comes here occasionally from the surrounding meadows.
These very small ones too, they can be usually found on flowers.
This one I found at down, surrounded by droplets.
This is also a beetle, but a very differently shaped one.
And with this little collection of Coleoptera :)
And a photo of the cricket cleaning his feet.
And some other pictures ...
... of reeds ...
... and spiders ...
... and snails ...
...and some more crickets ...
... yap ...
... and a bloody mosquito :) ...
... it's time ...
... to bring this long scroll to an end.
That's all about this, kind of forest, of reeds.
Hope you like this summer story from the Mediterranean area.
Have a good day ...
... or night ...
... wherever on the planet you are.
( As always in these posts on Steem8t, all the photographs, are my work. )
SUMMER ADVENTURES - episode 2 - Coastal reeds
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