Not for Arachnophobes: Spiders in Alonissos Greece

I spent quite a time very close to very small spiders both in the Old Town on May 16th and later in some scrubland near the town. A great variety of spiders inhabit the bushes and flowers - the Jumping spiders found on the house walls were my favourite (as at home in UK)

Old Town, Patitiri, Alonissos Greece

On 16th May wespent the morning in the Old Town or Chora. It was the capital of the island before 1965 when an large earthquake hit the island. The earthquake destroyed the village and the inhabitants were then forced to move down to Patitiri.

After the earthquake many foreigners as well as Greeks, started to buy the old houses. They kept the character of the village, repairing many of the old buildings and restoring them to their original splendor. There are many unexpected corners to photograph. They are holding a dance Festival on July8th/9th. These dancers were doing a publicity video and were happy to pose for me.

Aggressive Avocets at Welney and Life in the Reeds

We haven't visited Welney in the Summer for some time and were surprised at the number of Avocets there. They were very aggressive chasing any birds that came near including a pair of Shovellers, Black-headed Gulls and Common Terns. Great to see Reed and Sedge Warblers and Reed buntings close plus a Sparrowhawk.

Red in Proboscis and Claw, Insects and Spiders May 15th Alonissos Greece

We saw and photographed quite a variety of insect and spider life on Monday in Alonissos, much of it intent on killing and eating the rest. The Assassin bug, Rhynocoris iracundus, was everywhere on the bushes - here sucking the body content of a fly larger than itself. The Robber Fly has picked on the same fly species to kill and devour (one 50mm macro shot, other 560mm distant shot). Even the Beeflies are not that innocent as they parasitize Cuckoo Wasps laying their eggs in the nests of the wasps.
I was pleased to see two spectacular day flying moths the Fiery Clearwing (Pyropteron chrysidformis) and Hummingbird Hawkmoth - very difficult to photograph.
Lots of different Crab spiders and other spiders - not yet identified.
The other commonest group were Beetles - the last image the attactive Purpuricenus budensis

Sunrise, Church on the Cliffs and Bee Orchids, Alonissos, Greece

Our fourth day in Alonissos proved the best weather of the trip - sunny with virtually no wind so around 33 degrees which delighted the bugs (to follow). The sunrise was also the only really colourful one from the hotel balcony. Our morning visit was to Ag. Anargiri, a small church set in pinewoods on the cliffs. I was delighted to find some bee orchids - the closest I can find for images on the web is Heldreich's Bee Orchid (Ophrys heldreichii). Close ups of  Blackstonia perfoliata and Centuary species. Finally, a well-camouflaged lizard.