Silversnapper's Happy Snaps

[Clovishound]

I often take shots of insects and then discover another much smaller insect in the shot when I edit it.

 

[Silversnapper]

Gatekeeper Butterfly

Small Copper Butterfly

 

[Silversnapper]

Back in 2024 I made a posts(#24) in a weekly challenge about fire hydrants:
https://nikonites.com/forum/threads...or-other-fire-fighting-equipment.48279/page-2
This was an image I made and posted after the challenge

On my walk today I found this:

I wonder what the cretin with half a brain cell (damaged) got out of destroying it?

 

[Needa]

I wonder what the cretin with half a brain cell (damaged) got out of destroying it?

Why indeed?

 

[Silversnapper]

While I was out on my walk today, I spotted this small herd of Cylindricus Fenum Fascis browsing in a nearby field. This species has more or less superseded the previously common Rectangulae Fenum Fascis in my neck of the woods. I must have spooked them as there were only a couple left in the far corner on my return journey.

Just a bit of fun to lighten the day.

 

[Silversnapper]

I was startled when this Giant House Spider ran across my eye line whilst I was rummaging in the back of my workshop. A quick dash for a camera and then I managed to grab this one shot after a 10 minute search. Note the two packed lunches and the wood louse dicing with death in the top RH corner.

 

[Clovishound]

I don't think those are food parcels. I believe they are nurseries.

 

[Silversnapper]

I don't think those are food parcels. I believe they are nurseries.

Thanks Clovishound, I never thought of that, I'll try and keep an eye on them and see what happens.

 

[Silversnapper]

According to the British Butterfly Conservation charity, the Southern Small White butterfly has been spotted in the UK for the first time.
Butterfly expert Chris van Swaay of Dutch Butterfly Conservation confirmed the identification and posted this chart to help identify them:

I think I have a better chance of seeing maggots on Mars than I have of identifying one in the wild - unless I could get it to stay still long enough for me to draw the line with a rule and compare it.

 

[Silversnapper]

My Indian Stick Insect Nymph after the first moult, about 8 weeks old now. It doesn't like posing, when it detects nearby motion it immediately goes into the "I'm a stick" mode by stretching its front and rear legs out in line with its body and using the middle pair to hang on with. This time I caught it 'mid-transition', before it got its back legs out.

Nikon D810, Sigma 105mm f2.8 MkII lens, Godox TT685 flash

 

[Silversnapper]

For the first time, here's the stick insect nymph in the perfect 'I'm a stick' pose - antenna, forelegs and middle legs all pointing forward (top left), rear legs pointing backwards (bottom right). They're pretty darned good at this aren't they, nigh-on invisible. I managed better lighting this time.

Nikon D810, Sigma 105mm f2.8 MkII lens, Godox TT685 flash

 

[Silversnapper]

The only visitors at my local pond this morning. Is this Granddad teaching Grandson- or the other way round? I'm not sure, but they did have a big fish on the line.

 

[Silversnapper]

My kindly neighbour has given me some of the last of his fruit harvest, soon to be turned into apple crumble, apple tart and poached pears.

 

[Robin W]

My Indian Stick Insect Nymph after the first moult, about 8 weeks old now. It doesn't like posing, when it detects nearby motion it immediately goes into the "I'm a stick" mode by stretching its front and rear legs out in line with its body and using the middle pair to hang on with. This time I caught it 'mid-transition', before it got its back legs out.
View attachment 421208
Nikon D810, Sigma 105mm f2.8 MkII lens, Godox TT685 flash

I have been hoping to get one of those. Nice find!

 

[Silversnapper]

Thanks Robin. This insect was one of ten and it's hatching from an egg has left me with an unsolved question. I was fascinated by this hatching process but, despite setting up a time-lapse camera several times, I was never fortunate enough to catch one actually emerging from its egg. 'Why the fascination' you might ask. The second photo shows an insect just 4, yes 4, hours after I last saw it as an egg - to which it is still attached! So, how do you get a circa 10mm long insect out of a 1.7mm long egg??? I have trawled the 'net for an answer - to no avail. All I can think of is that it must be coiled like a clock spring in the egg and then. after the 'cap' has popped off, it inflates itself similarly to butterfly and dragonfly wings.
I am hoping some learned person will enlighten me one way or the other.

This is a stick insect egg, approx 1.7mm long. It looks like some sort of flask with a screw cap

This is the insect that hatched within a four-hour 'window' with its back legs and tail not yet fully emerged.

 

[Marilynne]

I asked copilot your question. Here's the response:

The Great Unfurling: How It Fits​

• Compact Coiling: Inside the egg, the nymph is tightly folded—think of a biological origami. Its legs and body are curled in a way that maximizes space efficiency, much like a clock spring.
• Hydration Expansion: Upon hatching, the insect rapidly absorbs moisture from its surroundings. This hydration helps it “inflate” slightly, elongating its body and limbs.
• Cuticle Stretching: The outer cuticle is soft and flexible at first. As the nymph emerges, it stretches out before hardening. This is similar to how butterfly wings expand post-emergence.
• Egg Cap Mechanism: The egg has a specialized “lid” or operculum that pops off, allowing the nymph to push its way out. The process is surprisingly swift—some observers report seeing a full emergence within just a few hours.

Your Observation​

Your time-lapse attempt and the photo of the nymph still attached to the egg four hours after emergence are incredibly valuable. That transitional moment—legs not fully extended, body still soft—is rarely captured. It’s likely the insect was still undergoing post-hatch expansion and cuticle hardening.

 

[Silversnapper]

Thanks for the research Marilynne, it seems I wasn't too far out after all. It is now about 55-60mm at full stretch and about due for another moult. They are 'parthenogenetic' which means they don't need to mate to reproduce, which is just as well as apparently less than 1 in 10,000 are born male, so I guess it's a 'she' and will start to release eggs after six months or so.

 

[Silversnapper]

Everything is looking very autumnal round the fishing pond now so it was a pleasant surprise to come across this colourful little patch of Ivy-leafed Cyclamen.

 

[Silversnapper]

A 2½ hour walk around the National Trust Property of Nostell yesterday only presented these two mediocre long-range wildlife opportunities.

However, one of my other hobbies was working in wood and I was thrilled to come across this beautiful bench carved by a local chain-saw carver, Shane Green, the Yorkshire Carver.

 

[Silversnapper]

I confess that I had a twinge of envy when my friend told me he'd got a Volvo - until I received this photo.....

............ a road tarmac-laying machine