GRASS AND SHRUBS IN THE FIRST DAYS OF JULY

Near the archaeological park of Nesactium, a place I have written about on several occasions in my posts here on Hive, there is an area covered with a patchwork of shrubs, small trees, and various herbaceous plants.

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I spent a couple of pleasant afternoons there in the first days of July 2025, and I photographed many plants that bloom in early summer. I also photographed a variaty of small arthropods that crawl, jump, and fly around those plants.
Today, I feel ready to show you all that colorful biodiversity. Have a good viewing.

This is the Cryptocephalus trimaculatus, a leaf beetle from the rich and varied Chrysomelidae family. All leaf beetles belong to that family. The beetle was resting on the juicy young leaf of the Paliurus spina-christi shrub when I took the photograph.

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In this wide shot, you can see the same shrub in the evening scenery.

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Here you can see a big, fat fly from the Tachinidae family posing on the top of the Paliurus spina-christi twig. The scientific name of the species is Linnaemya picta.

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This lovely litlle cockroach was photographed on one of the lower branches of the same plant.

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The scientific name of the species is Ectobius vittiventris. It belongs to the Ectobiidae family. The intricate network of veins on the translucent wings creates an elegant and beautiful pattern. The insect is commonly known as the amber forest cockroach.

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Here you can see the minuscule flowers of one of the herbaceous plants I found near the shrub.

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This photograph shows the same type of flower from a different angle.

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Here you can see the entire plant. Its scientific name is Scrophularia canina.

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Scrophularia canina flowers are too small to be appreciated without a macro lens or magnifying glass.

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This photograph, taken without the use of flash, showcases the flowers in the soft, beautiful evening light.

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This wide shot is here for two reasons: to allow you a short break from the macro view and to show you another chunk of the scenery.

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This is the Thymelicus sylvestris. It belongs to the Hesperiidae family.

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The small butterfly was resting on the ear of the Hordeum secalinum grass. In the following photograph ...

... a tortoise bug from the Scutelleridae family is posing on another ear of the same type of grass. The scientific name of the species is Eurygaster maura.

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Here you can see the Tibellus oblongus, a spider from the Philodromidae family. The spider is waiting in ambush, well-camouflaged on Hordeum secalinum.

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Runcinia grammica is another ambush predator. This spider belongs to the Thomisidae family. In this photograph, Runcinia grammica is holding its prey, a fly from the Syrphidae family.

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This wide shot shows a friend who was there with me. She's posing in the fairly tall Hordeum secalinum grass.

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These two photographs show a jumping spider on the blade of grass that's growing among the prickly branches of the wiry, shrubby Asparagus acutifolius plant.

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The scientific name of the spider is Philaeus chrysops. Only males have a showy, vivid-red abdomen.

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These tiny flowers ...

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... belong to Myosotis ramosissima ...

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... a small, gracile herbaceous plant I found among the grass.

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Myosotis ramosissima flowers aren't very showy ...

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... but they look great when seen through the macro lens.

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In this shot, the flowers are posing against the ear of grass blurred in the background.

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These flowers are also very small.

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They belong to Osyris alba.

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Here you can see the entire plant.

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In this shot, the great green bush-cricket nymph is posing on the Osyris alba twig. The scientific name of the species is Tettigonia viridissima.

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This set of four photographs shows four more macro portraits of the tiny Osyris alba flowers.

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Here, the Tettigonia viridissima nymph was caught in a different pose but still on the same plant.

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In this non-macro shot, two Osyris alba shrubs are protruding from the lush green grass.

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Here, you can see a few more flowers.

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In this photograph, the focus is on one of the slightly bent shrubs.

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Some Osyris alba plants in the area were growing even more horizontally.

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Here you can see the clusters of flowers from one of those horizontal twigs. In the following photograph ...

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... the Linnaemya picta fly is posing near the flowers.

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This species from the Tachinidae family was introduced earlier in the post.

Here you can see a few more horizontal twigs covered with tiny flowers.

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In these two shots, the twigs are strictly vertical.

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Here, you can see a mosquito posing on the leaves at the top of a fresh, young Osyris alba sprout. This is the tiger mosquito, native to Southeast Asia. The scientific name of the species is Aedes albopictus.

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This is yet another, probably unnecessary, portrait of the flowers. In the following photograph ...

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... a multitude of tiny flowers created a slightly chaotic but still fairly attractive pattern.

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This crab spider was also photographed on an Osyris alba plant. Its scientific name is Xysticus cristatus.

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At some point, while exploring one of the many small Osyris alba shrubs scattered across the grassy area ...

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... I came across this interesting scene, which I had never seen in nature before, only in pictures on the Internet. The Xysticus cristatus female was guarding its nest. I had to move a few twigs to take a good look and get a clear shot.

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Crab spiders (Thomisidae family) don't use silk for hunting; they don't build webs or similar structures, but in many species, females make and guard flat sacs that protect the eggs.

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Osyris alba is a semiparasitic plant.

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The roots of these small shrubs can tap into the roots of nearby plants and extract their sap.

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I spent quite a few hours with Osyris alba on those pleasant summer afternoons.

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This wide shot shows the unpaved road that leads through the area shown in the post and further into the forest.

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Here you can see a portrait of the Dactylis glomerata grass in bloom. In the following photograph ...

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... a small bush cricket nymph is posing on the same type of grass.

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In these two shots, the nymph was caught on the leaf of grass.

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The scientific name of this bush cricket species is Sepiana sepium.

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In these four photographs, you can see the Malachius bipustulatus, a beetle from the Melyridae family, among the tiny Dactylis glomerata flowers.

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This is a portrait of another type of grass, the Poa pratensis.

Here you can see a group of Sitobion avenae aphids on the common wild oat (Avena fatua).

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In this wide evening shot, you can take another look at the scenery. Hordeum secalinum grass is very prominent in the foreground.

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In the evening, some wasps and bees can be seen resting on the leaves of grass.

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This is a potter wasp from the genus Ancistrocerus in the Vespidae family. Can't tell you what species exactly I caught in these two photographs.

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As the night is approaching, while the wasps and bees are getting ready to sleep, many moths start their activities.

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This one belongs to the Crambidae family.

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The scientific name of the species is Platytes cerussella.

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These two photographs, one of which was taken with the use of flash and the other without it, show a Pholidoptera littoralis bush cricket hidden in the grass. A few meters further ...

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... I found this well-camouflaged spider from the Thomisidae family, a crab spider, in other words. The scientific name of the species is Heriaeus hirtus.

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Here you can see the big, fluffy seed head of the Tragopogon dubius plant. It looks a lot like a dandelion but is much bigger.

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In this photograph, taken after sunset, you can see a small Philoscia affinis isopod from the Philosciidae family.

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The minuscule thing shown crawling along the blade of grass in these three shots is a Syrphid larva. I know that is a larval stage of some fly from the Syrphidae family, but I can't tell you what species specifically this is.

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Here, you can take a look at the intricate mix of shrubs and climbing plants that create what looks like an archipelago of taller vegetation protruding from the grass.

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This photograph shows the shield bugs mating on the leaf of the Rubus ulmifolius blackberry.

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The scientific name of the species is Peribalus strictus.

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This set of four photographs, which I took while exploring the same thorny shrub, shows a juvenile Carrhotus xanthogramma jumping spider with its prey, a small moth.

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On the nearby Phillyrea latifolia shrub, I photographed this beetle from the Oedemeridae family.

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These two shots show the same insect cleaning its legs and wings a few seconds before flying away.

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The scientific name of the species is Oedemera podagrariae.

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This spider was resting on one of the dried-out twigs of a small Osyris alba shrub.

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It was a vertical twig, but ...

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... but the pretty big spider from the Cheiracanthiidae family looked better in a horizontal composition, especially when seen more up close, so I decided to rotate a few shots while preparing the stuff for this post.
The scientific name of the species is Cheiracanthium punctorium.

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A bit later, I came across another spider of the same kind not far from there. This one was posing on the fresh, green Osyris alba twig. The spider shown in the following photograph ...

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... is a Tibellus oblongus female. This species was already shown on two occasions earlier in the post.

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I zoomed a bit out in this shot. As you can see, the spider was comfortably camouflaged on the dry stem of some small herbaceous plant.

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In these two shots, you can see the same spider in a slightly different pose. One of its legs is leaning against one of the silky threads of a spider web. If I zoom out even more ...

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... you can see the entire web with another spider in its center; The Neoscona adianta, a species from the Araneidae family. That's the spider who built it. Tibellus oblongus is an ambush predator that doesn't use silk for hunting.

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Here, thanks to the wide-angle lens, you can see a larger section of that area.

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A bit later, I had the oportunity to photograph this Tibellus oblongus male.

Here you can see the Stenopterus rufus, a beetle from the Cerambycidae family, resting on the top of the Dactylis glomerata grass.

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In these two shots, I came a bit closer to the insect. The photograph on the right was taken with the flash, the other one without it.

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I came even closer here.

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This horizontal shot shows another Stenopterus rufus among the tiny flowers on the ear of the Dactylis glomerata grass.

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Here you can see an ant. A relatively large Camponotus aethiops worker is exploring the flowers of the Stachys recta plant. A few minutes later ...

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... I noticed an interesting spider camouflaged among the flowers of the same plant.

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This is the Thomisus onustus ...

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... a crab spider from the Thomisidae family.

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This is a female. They are larger than males and can change colors, often to match the colors of the flowers on which they rest or wait in ambush.

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These interesting small flowers ...

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... belong to the Marrubium incanum plant.

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There, I found another Thomisus onustus female ...

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... a considerably more colorful one this time.

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It appears that the intention was to be prominent and visible in this case. These chameleon spiders are pretty amazing.

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Here you can see another group of Marrubium incanum flowers.

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This is a moth larva.

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I'm unable to identify the species by name.

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It probably belongs to the Noctuidae family.

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This is a predatory larva of the green lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea). Its long, pincer-like mandibles are quite impressive.

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The larva was exploring the intricate inflorescence of the Oenanthe pimpinelloides plant.

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Here you can see the shield bugs mating on the Dactylis glomerata grass. The scientific name of the species is Neottiglossa leporina. The family is Pentatomidae, of course.

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This photograph shows another Neottiglossa leporina pair on the same kind of grass.

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Here you can see a weevil on the ear of the Hordeum secalinum grass. The scientific name of this species from the Curculionidae family is Larinus sturnus.

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In this wide shot, you can take one last look at the scenery. The Hordeum secalinum grass is very prominent in the picture.

AND THAT'S IT. THE POST ENDS HERE. HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE JOURNEY. AS ALWAYS HERE ON HIVE, THE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE MY WORK.

The following links will take you to the sites with more information about the protagonists of today's post. I found some stuff about them there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocephalus_trimaculatus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paliurus_spina-christi
https://www.naturespot.org/species/linnaemya-picta
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/468973-Ectobius-vittiventris
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrophularia_canina
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/128544-Thymelicus-sylvestris
https://www.naturespot.org/species/tortoise-bug-0
https://www.naturespot.org/species/tibellus-oblongus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runcinia_grammica
https://www.naturespot.org/species/meadow-barley
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asparagus_acutifolius
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philaeus_chrysops
https://www.naturespot.org/species/early-forget-me-not
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osyris_alba
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tettigonia_viridissima
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedes_albopictus
https://www.naturespot.org/species/xysticus-cristatus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dactylis_glomerata

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/780476-Sepiana-sepium/browse_photos

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malachius_bipustulatus

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/60307-Poa-pratensis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitobion_avenae

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/127788-Ancistrocerus

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/526909-Platytes-cerussella

https://uk.inaturalist.org/taxa/464097-Pholidoptera-littoralis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heriaeus_hirtus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragopogon_dubius
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philoscia_affinis
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/491461-Peribalus-strictus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrhotus_xanthogramma
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillyrea_latifolia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedemera_podagrariae
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheiracanthium_punctorium
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stenopterus_rufus
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/338197-Camponotus-aethiops
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomisus_onustus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stachys_recta
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/512067-Marrubium-incanum
https://www.naturespot.org/species/chrysoperla-carnea
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/549640-Neottiglossa-leporina
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larinus_sturnus