Crete Extras - Frangokastello Area

 The roads west of Plakias en route for the Imbros Gorge passed through some great scenery around Frangokastello and gave us some new sightings - two new Bee flies, a well camouflaged grasshopper, Small Copper and, among other birds, Crested Larks and a Pallid Harrier (very distant).

Orchids in Crete

This is an attempt to collate and share the orchid images that I took during a recent week in Crete. I am not certain of one or two IDs but hopefully their beauty and variety can be appreciated - a wonderful experience. 

Survey of Dodder Fen, Paxton Pits

Some of the c 50 species identified in a Bioblitz of an area at Paxton Pits that supports a colony of Dodder in the summer - parasitic on nettles. The Bee Fly (a parasite of Mining bees) is loading its egg chamber with mud to coat the eggs so they are heavier and drop more accurately into the bee nest holes.

Images from Crete Phaestos and its Orchids, Spiders etc

Phaistos was an important Bronze Age settlement from the 3rd millennium BC. It was one of the largest in Crete, with the Palace of Phaistos dating from around 1900 BC. The palace is most famous for the discovery of the Phaistos Disc, a 15cm clay-fired disc with stamped symbols that have yet to be deciphered and are believed to be some of the oldest writing in Europe. The stones were alive with very small Jumping spiders - which were wonderful subjects for macrophotography. The males have small bright orange and black abdomens while the females are less well marked but slightly larger. We also saw a Scarce Swallowtail Butterfly and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth. Three very similar 'Bee' orchids to finish - the Bumble Bee Orchid, Sombre Bee Orchid and Sawfly Orchid.