No landscape nor animals, no problem.
So easy to miss!
I am really liking the idea of photographing the insect world when both the landscape and animal genre has nothing happening. It is amazing what you can see when you immerse yourself in the insect world.
A less attractive colour.
This grasshopper was quite large compared to the many smaller ones like in the previous photo. The larger greys hopped around more in the trees than down in the grass with the little green ones.
Not so easy to miss.
At present these flowers are everywhere in Barron Gorge. I like to find a heavily flowered area, sit down low in it and see what is there or arrives later.
A green ants nest above me.
The spot I chose to sit down on this day was very close to a green ants nest. Not surprisingly there were green ants in the grass around me also.
A green ant carrying a dead bee that weighs many times it’s own body weight.
When I saw this green ant carrying a dead bee I was amazed at the feat of strength it was displaying. There were live bees around me as well visiting the flowers.
Filling up with pollen.
Like the grasshoppers the bees also were drawn to the flowers. The little red bags on the bees legs are called corbiculae and are used as baskets to carry the pollen.
A visitor to my hat.
While I was in the grass I kept on noticing something moving around my eye line from time to time. A Praying Mantis had hitched a ride on my hat.
March Flies the scourge of Barron Gorge.
Another unwanted guest on this day and most others in Barron Gorge is this March Fly. They really hurt when they bite and I swell up a little also with an allergic reaction.
It was recently that I discovered that they are attracted to the colour dark Blue. I avoid wearing dark blue clothing since learning that but my dark blue bush walking hat remains. I apply lots of insect repellant to it.
My second favourite photo of the day.
After the green ant carrying the bee this is second favourite photo from the day. I love the colours and how they work together.
What are they doing?
I might be wrong but I think when Dragonflies connect like this to each other they are mating. That said it looked like one was trying to drown the other as it repeatedly landed near the surface and the attached dragonfly went under water.
The landscape fail of the day.
Before switching to the insect world I did have a go at trying to get the above composition to work. The light was flat and I never got any colour in the sky.
Looking for patterns in the water.
Before giving up totally on the landscapes and turning to the insects I did try to find some patterns in the water foam. Not much success here either but it did give me some ideas for next time I try this.
The insects world was the highlight of this visit to Barron Gorge.