Showing posts with label Drosera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drosera. Show all posts
Friday, 12 September 2008
A sticky end
This week I got just a little bit fascinated by insects caught on the sticky globules on the leaves of sundews. In the first photo a small insect is caught on Drosera whittakeri - I only ever see small insects on these plants. The other photos are Drosera peltata - some quite large insects get tangled up with this beauty. I reckon there's a PhD in what types of insects get caught and why, or maybe someone's already done it. The last photo shows the leaf after it has slowly curled in around the insect in order to absorb the nutrients.
Sunday, 17 August 2008
Gold!
You've seen the Olympic athletes raise their hands in the air when they win an event. Well, yesterday I had my own "hands-in-the-air" event. I've finally photographed a Drosera whittakeri Scented Sundew.
Actually I've photographed them dozens of times but never successfully. They are very white, small, low to the ground and I've had trouble getting the exposure right or the depth of field right. And they flower best after a fire so normally the background is very dark so getting a metre reading can be tricky. Absolutely beautiful but very frustrating.
We found a small area in the forest near Anglesea that had been burnt recently and the black ground between the grasstrees was covered in the white-flowering sundews. I'd forgotten that their common name is Scented Sundew and didn't get down that low to smell them but I was on my hands and knees to photograph them. The light was good because it was an overcast day and I played around with the + and - settings to get a good depth of field. At home I was able to photoshop the shadows to lighten them a little. As you can see the leaves on this species of sundew are red and covered in dewy glands to trap insects.
Actually I've photographed them dozens of times but never successfully. They are very white, small, low to the ground and I've had trouble getting the exposure right or the depth of field right. And they flower best after a fire so normally the background is very dark so getting a metre reading can be tricky. Absolutely beautiful but very frustrating.
We found a small area in the forest near Anglesea that had been burnt recently and the black ground between the grasstrees was covered in the white-flowering sundews. I'd forgotten that their common name is Scented Sundew and didn't get down that low to smell them but I was on my hands and knees to photograph them. The light was good because it was an overcast day and I played around with the + and - settings to get a good depth of field. At home I was able to photoshop the shadows to lighten them a little. As you can see the leaves on this species of sundew are red and covered in dewy glands to trap insects.
And here are a couple more moss species that I found as well. Because it was a wet day the raindrops add a special beauty.
Friday, 18 July 2008
On show
In the early morning light the sundews near the 100 Mile Swamp at Undara Lava Tubes were spectacular. I wish now that I'd stayed a little longer to study the insects caught in the sticky globules. I didn't think of it at the time, but they show up as blurred images in some of my photos.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)