Dove Nest

I found this Eurasian collared dove nest in a mulberry tree, about eight feet from the ground. Doves build relatively flimsy nests from small sticks. They generally don't use soft grass and leaves in their nest like other birds. Almost all doves lay two white eggs. The eggs takes about two weeks to hatch. Both male and female care for the young, which leave the nest from 2 to 3 weeks.

Dove nest picture from the top

Dove nest picture from the the ground

Ladybug Pupa

The life cycle of a ladybug consists of four stages i.e. eggs, larva, pupa and adult ladybug. Here are pictures that represent the 3rd stage i.e. pupal stage of a lady bug. When the larva mature it attaches itself to a plant leaf or stem to pupate. The pupal stage of a ladybug remain for about 5 to 7 days.

Ladybug Pupa Pictures

Red and Black Stink Bugs Mating

I shot these red and black bugs while they were enjoying mating. They have red bodies with black spots. They also have a greenish strip on the backside running from head to tail. I called them stink bugs, due to their resemblance with stink bugs, but still not sure whether they are stink bugs are not. Any help with correct identification will be highly appreciated.

Red and Black Stink Bugs Mating Pictures

Silver-striped Hawk Moth

The Silver-striped Hawk Moth (Hippotion celerio) is a moth of the Sphingidae family. They are also known as vine hawk moth or grapevine hawk moth, may be because grape vine is one of the host plants for the Silver-striped Hawk Moth caterpillar/larva.

Silver-striped Hawk Moth Pictures

Sunflower Field

I shot the Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) field pictures a few weeks ago, but didn't post them in the hope of getting some better photos. The sunflower season is almost over and being a lazy person, I could not get more pictures. Due to poor light I have to re-expose the pictures for a better view. Our farmers grow sunflower in a very small quantity for their personal use. The seeds are crushed into oil locally. After frying the crude oil, it's used as edible oil without any further treatment or process.

Sunflower Field Pictures