# 2 Hoverfly

i feel blessed that i am given space to grow plants. And this activity of growing has from time to time brought me up close and personal with species i am seeing only now. Quite a revelation !
i see them often and sometimes must admit feeling somewhat reluctant to disturb their daily chores. What if my curiosity gets in the way of the creature and their instincitive defence mechanism sees me running for cover.
So then that's how i came to notice these beautiful creatures when at first i thought they were bees/wasps and that i should stay away from them lest they should sting me.

 

 

Tiny creatures with brilliant stripes. Iridescent pair of wings and the body that shines like it was made of glass. But that was not the only feature that attracted me towards these bee looking creatures. What fascinated me the most was the locomotion part. Yeah !
In so many ways it reminded me of helicopters and the way it hovered around the flower or foliage it fancied.
For days have i chased them keeping them at arms length at first because i thought they might sting me if i got too close. Last year i was stung twice by wasps (accidently) and i still cringe at the memory of the pain and the swelling. Not to miss the itching that happens as the spot heals.
Then thanks to a couple of my just by chance shots plus some search on the internet that i got a bit more daring.
Hover Fly that's what they are called. Friendly tiny creatures that hover around the plants in search of nectar and pollen.
They move like they are swimming in the air. Just gliding in and out of the flower beds and among the foliage like an expert diver. The speed of the wings with the day light all around they apparently seem wingless. Actually it is quite difficult to make comparisons. Sometimes you feel like they are like divers in the atmospheric sea and other times they resemble like those helicopters in the sky. The blades seen chopping the wind not as pair of blades but something moving just too fast to let the eye discern.
However the uniqueness of this particular species of 'Flower Fly' truly is in the way it hovers. Suspended with their glassy bodies in the air. Harmless and quiet. As if meditating/levitating. Their beautiful pair of fragile fairy wings hardly visible to the discerning eye at times. At other times if you are close enough maybe you can spot the rapidly moving wings.

 

Sometimes i wonder how we knew right from childhood about bees and missed knowing about these. Maybe we weren't looking or maybe there was no time to look. i thank Heavens. For the exact time when i see more now even though without my glasses i am partially blind.

 

 

Thank you for going through my pictures and what i had to say.

i also thank the mentioned below site for giving me the FAQs on this among the so many of the Flower Flies.

http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/mbcn/kyf211.html

i am still chasing Hover flies to shoot for myself a perfect clear picture of the one sleek brilliantly striped body flanked by rapidly moving wings.

Wish me luck then ! 

 

# 1 Ladybug

“The thing about exploring is that you have to know whether the thing you've found is worth finding. Some things are just sitting there, minding their own business, waiting to be discovered. Like America. And other things are probably better off left alone. Like a dead mouse at the back of the cupboard.” 
― John Boyne, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

It's funny and strange...You just finish reading a book and when you are up and about certain visions take you back to those words...
i love being on my own along with my companions...those which do not speak my language and yet converse with me...teaching me...showing me what i have missed during my 51 years of existence on this earth...
Feel rather rich even when i realize that this knowing may not be a quantum leap but just a tiny hint of the entire secret to be unfolded...

# 1. As brilliant as a jewel- The ladybugs
Now apart from knowing from my personal reading of them that not only are they good bugs that control pests,  i am rather thrilled to see that this brilliant as a jewel is like a cute space ship. Hidden wings inside the bright and spotted domes that automatically come out when it's time to take flight...

As a kid i was fascinated by those books in the school library. Hardcover Ladybird story books with it's closed wing ladybird logo. Did i know then that today would be that day when i shall have time and the inclination to watch intently one for real. Of course apart from loving the smell of those books and admiring the print what to talk of the stories i also thought then that The Ladybird was a beautiful insect that was found in the gardens of England. And those gardens were often frequented by gnomes, fairies and pixies...when people were deep in their slumber swimming in their dream river... 

Cannot say if i was better then when i had such fantastic thoughts or i am now to see this as a really cute tiny brightly colored spaceship with it's automatic mechanisms. To some with whom i share my findings i might apparently appear to be having some knowledge. Because some are not aware that the ladybug is also a Samaritan of some sort for the garden. As helpful as the natural tillers of the soil- The Earthworms.

 "Ladybugs control pests that pester your plants. Definitely a good bug to have. They are capable of consuming up to 60 aphids per day, but will also eat a variety of other insects and larvae including scales, mealy bugs, leaf hoppers, mites, and various types of soft-bodied insects.They may be white, yellow, pink, orange, red or black, and usually have spots.'' http://www.clean-organized-family-home.com/good-garden-bugs.html

Would like to conclude my post with yet another from the same book...

“Just because a man glances up at the sky at night does not make him an astronomer, you know.” 

― John Boyne, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Will be back with #2...because i have more to share...