Wild Flowers from New Zealand

A Bouquet of Wild Flowers

 

My granddaughter picked a bouquet of flowers for me when she went for a walk

with her grandfather.  I have used some of her collection in this Autumny painting

along with some colourful leaves which seem to have fallen later this year.

Also included are some honesty pods and a stick insect.  We often see these

'hayseed' stick insects and came home the other day to find one on the front door.

 

 

 

Here is another spiney stick insect which I picked up off the footpath

this morning, it must have been blown out of a tree in the storm

we had last night.  This one would have been 8 -9cms long in

it's body  so quite a large one.

 

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective Blogspot

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2016

 



Huka Falls, the Waikato River, New Zealand

Huka Falls

 

Here is a little film of the Huka Falls which we visited recently, it is the

most visited of the natural features in New Zealand.  This was believable as

even at nine o'clock in the morning buses were drawing in and many

different languages could be heard amongst the viewers.

The Huka Falls is in Wairakei Village just North of Taupo and is where

the Waikato River which drains Lake Taupo narrows to 15 metres through

granite rock.  32 - 270 cubic metres of water per second pass through the

narrow gorge

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective blogspot

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2016

The Last Rose, a Painting from New Zealand

The Last Rose

 

This is my latest painting from the garden as Autumn settles in.   It is warm

and muggy with the rain and the bees and butterflies are still busy

 

 

Among the leaves are many small beetles and ladybirds as we tidy up

for Winter.  This work will form part of my Wild Garden exhibition

not just a series of paintings on gardens but a look at the

importance of supporting our birds and insects within an urban

environment.

 

Midnight Collective

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2016

 

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Painting Rudbeckia Daisies in a New Zealand Garden

 

Rudbeckia Daisies

This is a new painting of the Rudbeckia daisies in a nearby garden.  They are intermingled

with poppies and salvia and the bees seem to love them all.  We are almost into

Autumn now and the houheria or lace bark tree is flowering at the back of our garden,

 it is full of honey bees and from there they are coming into our vegetable patch to fertilize 

the pumpkins.  Along with the monarch butterflies they

are also visiting my pink cosmos and scarlet dahlias.

 

 

Wellington has had the hottest Summer on record so even with Autumn here

the days are warm and muggy.

A Monarch on the houheria tree

 

Midnight Collective Blog

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2016



The Decline of Bees in New Zealand

 

Loosing Our Bees

This year I have grown a few sunflowers which the bees usually love but I have not seen

one on them.  I have one of the pollenless variety which I would not have grown had

I realised, however the others are full of pollen and still no action.  Earlier in the

season at blossom time we had many bees but now it is difficult to see them around at

all.  Even so I love my sunflowers so here are some pictures of them.

 

 

 

If you want to help the plight of the Bees in New Zealand you can sign the petition organised

by Steffan Browing, which asks the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a strategy to

protect our bees from harmful neonicotinoids used in agricultural sprays.

 

For more information on Steffan’s campaign:
Webpage (including a downloadable petition form to gather more signatures): http://action.greens.org.nz/bees-info
Sign the online petition: http://action.greens.org.nz/bees2?utm_expid=98069376-4.044JnMHSQ_S5PLwfTm8mPA.2&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Faction.greens.org.nz%2Fbees-info

Here is one bumble bee on a scabiosa!

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective Blogspot

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2016

 

 

 



A Bee Friendly Wild Garden Painting from New Zealand

 

 

A Bee Friendly Painting

 

 

I have just finished this painting, another one in my Wild Gardens series.

After reading two books by Dave Goulson I am committed to planting bee

friendly flowers in my garden along with our native species which bring the birds.

If you are interested in the conservation of the bees around your garden or fields I recommend

his books ' A Sting in the Tale' and 'A Buzz in the Meadow'. 

Any old fashioned flowers will attract and feed your local bee population,

lavender, heartsease, marigolds, foxgloves, poppies, borage, aquilegia,
anise hyssop and echium to mention just a few. 

My sunflowers are just beginning to flower, the bumble bees love these, 

but it is no good growing the pollenless varieties.

 

 

 

In New Zealand our honey and bumble bees are all introduced but we do have

native bees as well.  They are predominately found in the bush feeding on

our native tree and plant blossoms.

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2016

 



Preying Mantis from New Zealand

A New Zealand Preying Mantis

 

I spotted some newly hatched preying mantis running around on our front wall,

they are very tiny maybe just over 1cm long.  I was most pleased to see the egg

case nearby though as it showed that it was a native mantis and not one of the

slightly larger ones which now seem to dominate.  I believe that these intruders

come from South America and entice our local males to mate and become

eaten leaving no offspring.

The egg cases of the foreign ones are bigger and much more untidy and are

often seen around our wall as well, it must be a favourably warm spot although

there is no vegetation closeby.

 

 

Here is one baby much larger than actual size.

 

 

And another.

 

 

And here is the egg case.

 

 

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective blogspot

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2016