Sea waves, Sand waves and Light waves

Last year around June the world powerboat circumnavigation record was broken
by the vessel pictured below. Earthrace.



Built from Carbon fibre, it is designed as a wave piercing trimaran.
Cutting through the waves, the windscreen designed to withstand 7M of water above it, it runs on bio diesel, and is extremely enviro friendly ( and an exiting ride).
Arriving as it did on Jan 19Th this year in Bermagui provided for some interesting shots and discussions with the crew.
It has been touring the world, with over 150,000 visitors on board to date, promoting enviro design through development of ideas.

The following waves are quite different.
The Ant lions trap, pictured in the following 3 shots, is constructed at an angle to allow passing insects to be drawn to the bottom of the funnel through the action of sand flicked at the prey by the Ant lion below.







And yet another type of waves.
The light waves returning from this orchid are no doubt registering in the ultra violet to signal potential pollinators.
It is very attractive in the visual spectrum also.



Does any one know the pollinator?

Of Ant Orchids and Hover Flies

I was sitting at home, processing a few photos, when Denis called in for a cuppa and a chat about the environmental damage being caused to our water catchment areas.

He asked if I would like to take a trip to see the Ant Orchids that are flowering at the moment. Even though I think he likes to push my camera skills, and my mind, to the limit trying to photograph these little tiny little flowers, I cant resist a challenge - so off we went.

We soon found a patch with the following blooms...

The pseudo insect form is quite clearly visible in the photo on the left, while the right hand shot shows well the pollen receptors.



The area was alive with insects, and I managed to get the following shots of a hover fly.

Denis, meanwhile, had found another Ant Orchid sub species. This is pictured below, again showing the pseudo insect that , along with a sexual pheromone, helps in the pollination of this plant......yes, these orchids are houses of ill repute for the wasps that visit them.

Will wonders never cease.