After a lengthy pause in activities due to relative immobility, a total knee replacement has seen the camera and macro lens on the move again. The nature news is not good however, insect abundance in the native garden has been the lowest ever experienced, not one flower wasp has been seen, native bees have only been observed on a couple of occasions, as have dragonflies, and most of the other regulars have been absent. About all to be seen on a wander around will be honey bees, the odd hoverfly, and a cabbage white or two. Jumping spiders are also hard to find with only two Servaea incana observed. The local cemetery has a reserved area rich in the local grassland flora, where Common Everlastings, Blue Grass Lilies, and Yellow Rush Lilies are flowering in abundance at the moment, with the odd Chocolate Lily, Onion Orchid, and Common Riceflower, but despite a careful search not one insect was found among all those flowers. A feature of both the lilies is that the spent flowers twist spirally, evident in the images. A Neoaratus Robber Fly perched on a tree trunk however and proved a willing subject.
Caesia calliantha.
Tricoryne elatior
