Unleashing Mysteries Hiding behind those Trees

The majestic scene in front of me doesn't always disappoint me. The broad open field surrounded by tall grasses, various plants, and humongous trees always astonished me and brought me peace. The incoming orange sunset peeking at the cumulus clouds and the Eiffel tower replica in the middle adds a cinematic impression of the scenery. It is a sight to behold. It's just like a painting displayed in the museum that entices people who come over. It has this strong glamour that pulls everyone together to appreciate the beauty hidden in the picture.

_{Image was edited in Canva. Original Image was taken by me}

I don't know how many minutes I spent sightseeing, all I know is it helped me to understand my thoughts and relax my tensed nerves. It is indeed my comfort place, a zone where I can enjoy the solace of being alone. I stand up from the ground and stretch my numbed limbs. I heard a faint sound of bone cracking indicating that I crouched for too long. I then proceed to water the remaining plants in our garden while mumbling soft music. I heard that it's good if you will let plants listen to some melodies or talk with them sometimes. I know that's pretty silly because they will never answer back but there's no harm if you will do it. After all, they are also alive like us.

After I made sure that I watered all the plants already, I came to check the mango tree. It's not planted on our property but its branches and leaves are reaching our rooftop. We are not mad about it instead we are pleased because we have some source of mangoes during seasons. I looked around the tree and as usual, the flowers are scattered everywhere slowly blooming each day. I touched its delicate flowers from top to bottom as well as smelled it but I didn't smell any fragrance. I just need to wait for how many weeks or months before I see it bearing fruits.

I was about to leave when I see a big pair of wary eyes glancing back and forth which startled me. It was hiding behind the mango leaves trying to conceal itself from being discovered. As a curious cat, I won't leave without knowing what it was so I gradually lift the leaves one by one until the Green Mantis appeared in my sight. Without thinking so much, I grabbed my phone from my pocket and photographed the Mantis as my subject.

_Mantodea

Seeing a Mantis or Mantodea in the scientific name is quite surprising. It's been a long time since I saw this kind of insect lurking around that's why I can't help but feel excited and amazed when I see one. Look at those sharp claws, it seems like they can easily assassinate prey in just a snap. That's why I am keeping my safe distance from it because I don't want to be pierced by its pointed weapon. I'm just glad that it behaved and didn't bother to launch an attack.

Suddenly, it moves forward so I moved backward to give it some space. I thought that it was going to fly and move to another tree but I was wrong. Using its sharp tibia spines, it climbed from a mango branch and stayed in a leaf. Looking at its thin abdomen, I concluded that it is looking for some prey to consume. Patiently waiting for some flies or other insects to pass by. It was in a standing position, and the legs are carefully spread, seems like praying but behind this innocent posture is a terrible motive. Its primary goal is to hunt down victims.

The Mantis waited for its victim but luck is not on its side today. So it decided to move in another direction hoping that it will have dinner for the night.

I think the Mantis situation represents us, humans. Sometimes we can't get what we want today but it doesn't mean that we will have the same result tomorrow and the following days. There are just some bad days and there are also good days. Life is perfectly imperfect in several ways.

This picture is one of my favorite shots that I took out of almost a hundred. You may say that's a lot for a single subject but I assure you that it was hard to capture a good photo if the subject Is constantly moving by just using a phone. In this one, the Green Mantis seems exhausted from hunting and waiting so it will move from the Guava tree. Do you see those claws in the mid-air? It was trying to reach out to a branch from a nearby tree. I find it so cool, I was fascinated by its actions. I even think of a scenario wherein it was reaching for its partner asking it not to leave him alone. An iconic scene if ever, right? The title of their movie will be "A Love that wasn't able to Reach". A heavy drama of two Mantises.

I assumed that the Green Mantis was tired from our photoshoot and wanted to rest but since I still want to capture some photos I looked for additional subjects. I go back to one of our almost dead crops and see a bunch of red insects.

_{Dysdercus cingulatus}

I am not familiar with this insect but I know that it is a serious pest that tries to destroy crops. Using the google photo search function I was able to know its name. It is a Dysdercus cingulatus that belongs to the Pyrrhocoridae family. In simple terms, it is what we called the Red Cotton Stainer. It's my first time hearing that name but I'm glad that I'm aware now. I didn't capture it because I love it but because I want to appreciate different insects despite of whether they are destructive or not. All in all, everything that we can see can be a great subject for our photography.

_{Calliphoridae}

_{Musca domestica}

Houseflies and blowflies insects are hard to capture since they are sensitive to human actions and vibrations. Once they feel that something is moving around them they will not think twice to fly away. I want to have a macro shot with them but I think it will be impossible so I just chose to zoom in my camera, locked the focus, and shoot at different aspects.

Calliphoridae is the scientific name of the blue blowfly, I admire its shining body. Sometimes I saw metallic green, sometimes metallic blue just like now.

On the other hand, Musca domestica is the scientific name of a housefly. It is a common irritating pest in our homes. One of the spreaders of illnesses.

I found this Green Caterpillar on our staircase, to ensure that it will be safe I decided to put it on the Guava tree and let it crawl until it feels like it. It feels so soft and squishy in my fingers, the way it crawled in my palms feels sticky and uncomfortable. It's so cute that I want to pinch it but I reminded myself that it's just a poor insect that will soon transform into a beautiful butterfly. Letting it live will be the best option, I want it to experience seeing what the world looks like.

Its transformation symbolizes change for us. We don't need to judge our beauty because our beauty will shine in no time.

_{Platycotis vittata}

When I first saw this, I am curious about what type of insect it is. It is so small in size, If I'm going to compare it to a housefly I think the housefly is a little bit large compared to it. It has some horn on its head and its eyes are quite scary to stare at.

According to what I had researched, Platycotis vittata is its scientific name which belongs to the family of Membracidae. It is a bug that is commonly known as treehoppers. It was my first time seeing this insect and this is the only insect that heightened my curiosity. It is brown in color as well as its small eyes. I just wonder how they use their horns. It looks like hair that is styled with hair wax.

When the sky slowly turned dark that's the moment I stopped taking pictures. I released a deep sigh and stretched my neck side-by-side before going downstairs. I need to choose good photos and edit them after. A day full of discovery has been spent. I am glad that I was able to find a lot of mysteries hidden behind those trees. Certainly, life is full of mysteries, mysteries that we want to know and solve.

You guys maybe are wondering why my photographs are so dark. The reason behind it is I want to emphasize the subject, I want your attention to focus on the main content. Let me know what are your thoughts about the photographs that I captured, it will be a great help for me to improve.

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All images used in this article are ALL MINE and were edited using the Lightroom Application.