Not everything in the garden is pretty — but it's all part of nature 🪰
Spotted this silken web on my spindle tree, packed with tiny caterpillars. This is the work of the spindle ermine moth (Yponomeuta cagnagella), a species that feeds exclusively on spindle (Euonymus). These caterpillars spin communal webs to protect themselves while feeding, and can strip entire branches bare within days. Despite looking alarming, the spindle tree almost always recovers fully after the season. The webs attract birds hunting for an easy meal, and the adult moths later provide food for bats and other insectivores. Even a so-called pest plays its role in the food chain.

Niet alles in de tuin is mooi — maar het hoort allemaal bij de natuur 🪰
Dit zijdeachtige web vol kleine rupsen ontdekte ik op mijn kardinaalsmuts (Euonymus). Het is het werk van de kardinaalmutsstippelmot (Yponomeuta cagnagella), een soort die uitsluitend op kardinaalsmuts leeft. De rupsen spinnen gezamenlijke webben als bescherming terwijl ze vreten, en kunnen takken in enkele dagen volledig kaaleten. Ondanks het alarmerende uitzicht herstelt de kardinaalsmuts zich nadien bijna altijd volledig. De webben trekken vogels aan op zoek naar een makkelijke maaltijd, en de vlinders later in het seizoen zijn voedsel voor vleermuizen en andere insecteneters. Zelfs een zogenaamde plaag speelt zijn rol in de voedselketen.

#kardinaalmutsstippelmot
#spindleermothmoth
#yponometacagnagella
#kardinaalsmuts
#euonymus
#rupsen
#caterpillars
#insecten
#insects
#tuinleven
#gardenwildlife
#natuur
#nature
#biodiversiteit
#biodiversity
#voedselketen
#foodchain
#DorgaldirsGarden
#Dorgaldirs_Garden

#FoodChains in #Caribbean #coralreefs are getting shorter
#Fish on modern #coral reefs may face more competition for resources than 7,000 years ago.
Habitat loss and #overfishing push species to compete for fewer resources and repositioned some fish within ecosystem’s #foodchain. Findings suggest fish could be less able to adapt if food sources suddenly become scarce, perhaps making reefs even more vulnerable in an already changing environment.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/coral-reef-food-chain-caribbean
https://archive.ph/gi2Jg

☠️Understanding the molecular mechanisms governing #cadmium uptake in #rice is critical to mitigate human #health risks.
🌾Yue et al. review what we know and explore where newresearch might take us!
🍚https://doi.org/10.1111/jipb.70094
@WileyLifeSci
#PlantScience #agriculture #FoodChain #botany

The garden falls silent.

A few weeks ago, a Sparrowhawk turned our garden upside down in a storm of panic and wings. Yesterday, he returned. This time, there was no chaos — only anticipation. Every bird seemed to know what was coming. Long before I noticed him, the garden emptied itself. Not in panic, but with experience.

Only two House Sparrows (Passer domesticus — Huismus — House Sparrow) made a mistake. They chose low cover beneath the bird feeder house. When the Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus — Sperwer — Eurasian Sparrowhawk) landed on top of it, right above them, they froze. Perfectly still. Camouflage doing what evolution designed it to do.

The garden was silent. Too silent.

The sparrowhawk scanned the area, clearly disappointed. Then the two sparrows shifted… and briefly quarrelled. A fatal error. In a flash of muscle and feathers, the hawk launched himself downward. The sparrows reacted instantly — nimble, desperate, alive. They fled with the hawk right on their tail, vanishing beyond the garden.

I don’t know how it ended. That’s nature.

Predators like the Sparrowhawk don’t hunt for sport. They take what they need, removing weakness and maintaining balance. Without them, ecosystems collapse quietly and invisibly. Watching this unfold from my lunch table was a reminder that even the smallest garden is part of a much larger system.

Photographed handheld with my Canon 5D Mark IV and Sigma 100–400mm at f/6.3, 1/250 sec, ISO 3200 — overcast, calm, and deceptively peaceful.

Nature rarely announces itself loudly. Sometimes, it simply holds its breath.

#AccipiterNisus #Sperwer #EurasianSparrowhawk
#PasserDomesticus #Huismus #HouseSparrow
#BirdPhotography #GardenWildlife #UrbanNature
#NatureObservation #EcologicalBalance #Predation
#WildlifeBehavior #BirdsInTheGarden #NatureStory
#HandheldPhotography #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400
#WinterWildlife #OvercastDays #NaturalSelection
#FoodChain #Ecosystem #BackyardNature
#PixelfedPhotography #WildlifeMoments