Aphid Plague Feeding on Flower Stalk

A colony of green aphids (Sp. pulgón), all of them female by the way, plus a little extra company of assorted winged insects, feeding on the stem of this beautiful flower.

You may be wondering how do I know they are all female. Well not only they are all ladies but they are also pregnant. Yes, they are and in fact they are born pregnant.

Isn't that amazing? According to the source I consulted today this is what always happens at the beginning of the season in an aphid's life. To make it more complex, they give birth to more female aphids and so the process loops till the end of the season when females deliver males too. Mating starts and eggs are laid for the next season. Incredible!

Here is an article about controlling aphids in your garden and a beautiful image of a lady aphid giving birth. By the way this picture was just an accident since I took it on some flower pot at a friend's balcony. Strange as it may seem I didn't notice a single bug then so perfectly camouflaged as they were. Back at home on zooming in I found out.

White Daisy Detail

A detail of a white daisy. I hope you like this macro which looks better if you click on the image. A white daisy is just that, I don't have much to say considering I have published other similar posts before. See two of them here: Daisy Paradise and Morning Daisies in Bellaterra.

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Kitsch Art or Messy Balcony

Some people contribute to art without ever knowing it. Haven't you realized that some balconies in Barcelona are participating in some kind of silent permanent exhibition? I have seen many. A long time ago I posted a very unorthodox artwork with serious cartoonists' influence on an anonymous Barceloneta balcony. This sudden outburst of artistic manifestation is more frequent in the narrow streets of the old part of town. It seems that as there is no room enough for such hype of creativity artists feel the urgent need of showcasing their one-of-a-kind exhibits in the balcony.