Archive for the 'Attila Bakti' Category Page 2 of 13
An unused swimming pool becomes the home of many freshwater plants and animals. Insects of many types, such as beetles (Coleoptera), true bugs (Heteroptera), and fly larvae (Diptera), can be observed swimming in unused swimming pools.
Here a Dytiscus beetle has flown in from a neighbouring pond to make the pool its temporary home. It surfaces rear-end first to breathe before diving again to hunt for prey. Diving beetles are excellent swimmers, their bodies are streamlined, and their flattened rear legs, which bear two rows of “swimming” hairs (see photo), can generate powereful strokes.
A disused swimming pool is great place to observe freshwater wildlife because it is easily accessible, its edges are free from terrestrial vegetation which often make it difficult to see. In addition to this the blue of the pool allows us see creatures that we might not have noticed - check out the spiral of green algae in the photo.
Other resources :
If I were an early bird, this plump little fellow would look like a tasty morcel to me! What one might call a good start to the day. I’m sure there’s a moral to be learnt here somewhere.
Ahh, yes, of course :
The early bird gets the worm.
We all know that the world belongs to those who get up nice and early. Get up early and life can but smile for you.
However, there is a darker side to this story… one of personal disaster… the early (perhaps even earlier) worm gets eaten! Of course we automatically associate ourselves with the bird. The moralists of old conveniently failed to complete their comforting proverb. It should read :
The early bird gets the worm.
But the early worm gets eaten!
In other words know yourself! If you are a bird, get up early. If you are a worm, stay in bed a little longer and let other worms get eaten!
And, for the mice amongst us, here is some food for thought :
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
Wikipedia entry on the earthworm
Watch “Darwin’s Worm” a short video made by Jean Painlevé on the virtues of the earthworm.
What a nice chap! This toad posed for me one summer night. It made sure to bloat itself up (stretched its legs and inflated its lungs with air) to deter me from eating him! What a thought! You will notice in the photo the large glands just behind the eyes. These secrete an irritant substance through the skin that serves as a deterrent to most predators, hedgehogs and grass snakes excluded.
Toads are generally nocturnal and are most active on rainy nights, but can sometimes be seen in the daytime after rainfall. During the day they can be found under tree roots, stones and vegetation in a shallow burrow which they have excavated.
This wonderful little creature can live up to 40 years. It feeds on insects, spiders, slugs and worms, which it catches on its sticky tongue. Large individuals can also prey on slow worms, small grass snakes and even harvest mice. These are swallowed live. Their skin colour varies according to time of year, area, sex and age.
Only male common toads croak, which can be a useful way of distinguishing males and females. Males will ’squeak’ if picked up. I didn’t pick up this toad.
It is sometimes difficult to identify the common toad because its skin colour varies according to time of year, area, sex and age.
Other resources :
This colourful little beetle may look innocent enough as goes about collecting nectar - its private life, however, is something other. As a larva it lives in bee hives and feeds on young bees.
A similar species is Trichodes apiarius.
The small bay of “Les Figuières” on the Côte Bleue (just west of Marseilles) is a delightfully calm spot to enjoy the sun and the sea.
An afternoon’s snorkling reveals underwater meadows of sea grass (Posidonia oceanica), sea cucumbers, sea urchins, starfish (Echinaster sepositus) and schools of sea bream (Sarpa salpa). The rocks at the ends of the bay were covered in small banks of mussels at or near the sea surface, and isolated oysters at 2 or 3 metres depth.
Enikoe’s impression of house at Les Figuières
