unveiling biodiversity

My neighbour is a fanatic amature entomologist. However he is not traveling to national or international hotspots to find rare species. No, he is dedicated to his local patch, let's say a cirle with a 200m radius around his (and my) home. The sheer numbers of different species of beetles, moths, bees, wasps and other creatures are amazing. He has found several species new for the region and even for the country. This means that even around our houses in the middle of The Netherlands, there is undiscovered biodiversity, waiting to be unveiled. Here, during the night, he is taking photos of beetles attracted to a white sheet and a strong light.

From 22 July till 13 August I will be on holiday with my family, during which I will not publish any posts.

Cheers, Niels

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battle of the beetles....

The Stag beetle is one of those charismatic species that a lot of people, even not very interested in nature, know. Even though they (including me until now) have never seen the species, they know it from publications. I have to admit, once you have seen a photo of the Stag beetle, you won't forget it! In early summer the beetles gather around trees, mainly oak treest, that have wounds that provide a constant flow of high-nutrient juice. They feed upon this juice and fight among each other if a female comes near. This photo was taken during an encounter of two males, using a long exposure and a fill flash.

Cheers, Niels

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at last....

The past three years I have been trying to photograph a rare dragonfly, which has been listed under the Habitats Directive annex 2. It is the Green snaketail Ophiogomphus cecilia. It lives near lowland rivers with sandy or gravelrich substrates. I tried my luck again this year and discovered three fresh males. While trying to capture one of them I had to do a kind of cliff-hanging over the steep river bank. I hoped for one to perch on Purple loosestrife, what would result in a nice scene.....yes!

Cheers,

Niels

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