Mamelade Fly on Yellow Flower

It seems that we did not have a marmelade fly image for about ... 2 days now, so I think it is time for another :-):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Marmelade Flies on a Yellow Flower"] [/caption]

You might also want to enjoy the beautiful texture of those wonderful yellow flower petals. I did not play with the saturation, the color really is that lush!

Marmelade Fly on Pink Anemone

As I said a few days ago, the anemones are currently popping up like crazy. It seems they are not the only ones, we've also got a huge number of mamelade flies:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Marmelade Flies on an Anemone Flower"] [/caption]

As you can tell, a marmelade fly (Episyrphus balteatus) looks a bit like a solitary wasp, but it really is a hoverfly and therefore quite harmless. Harmless to everyone and everything but aphids (plant lice or greenflies), that is, which the larvae (would that be marmelade larvae?) are fond of eating.

For this reason the marmelade flies are quite welcome in my garden and I like to have them come around. In case you are wondering, they do not seem to have the habit of becoming annoying like their house fly cousins.

These two, incidentally, are both males. You can tell this because the eyes touch at the top of the head, which is unique to the males. Isn't it cool what you can find out if you take an interest in what shows up in your pictures? ;-)

Yellow Flowers in Front of a Blue Sky

Here's a fun shot I took while on my belly in the gras:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="533" caption="Yellow Flowers in Front of a Blue Sky"] [/caption]

I had to resist the temptation to increase the saturation of the blue sky to get a more in-your-face look, which would have meshed well with the super-saturated color of the flower. I prefer this rendition because it conveys the light, sunny feel that goes with that particular sky - if you have ever been to Bavaria in that kind of weather, you will know what a "Bavarian Sky" is and what I am talking about.

L'anémone primeur est arrivé!

The anemones have just begun to bloom. I love these flowers and relish the opportunity to take pictures of them. Here is this year's first (good) anemone picture:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Pink Anemone Flower"] [/caption]

I like anemones for their delicate beauty which is so visible when you look at the colored veins and spots against the light. Can you see the tiny hairs that line the petals? And the shadows the flower throws on itself in the sunlight?

Have I mentioned that I really love these flowers? No, I do not think you could have guessed. :-)