Plant – Insect Relationships

Introduction to the Gallery:  Plant-Insect Relationships

As some of you know, both plants and insects are among the natural subjects that I am interested in. The idea for this particular initiative came to mind on Labuan Bajo, Indonesia while photographing the insects landing on a single species of flower.  I was amazed to see how many different creatures lighted on the flowers looking for food (usually nectar and pollen). While I did take several photos, it also occurred to me that if I devoted more than the 15-20 minutes observing and trying to photograph the visitors, I might even discover a far greater variety of these pollinators.  

It seemed obvious that the particular plant had successfully evolved in such a way that it was sought after not by 2 or 3 kinds of insects, but rather by a much greater number of species.  That would also mean that a certain “etiquette” would also need to evolve in order for these different species to get along – or, in some cases, try to drive a competitor away.  As well, a large gathering of herbivores is also going to attract a certain number of predators, such as spiders and assassin bugs (Hemiptera, Family Reduviidae).

The presentation is divided into galleries based upon the plant species I focused my close-up lens on.  Because I suffer from ADHD and am almost always in transit when I discover a plant with the special status described above, these photo shoots were taken in somewhere between 30-45 minutes.  Perhaps at some point I may find myself in a situation where I can re-visit the plant colony and see if the number of gallery subjects expands significantly beyond what my short visit resulted in.