C-7 series contents
C-7 series background
the C-7 series was an exercise for my photographic continuity - i'd not had a serious photography binge for an entire summer - but for about 8 days i monitored a potted cucumber plant of mine and the lady beetles that claimed the plants as their hunting grounds - one such Coccinella septempunctata (or C-7) specimen intrigued me...
not only were the beetle's actions quite entertaining but his vibrant red color against that green cucumber leaf was a contrast-fiend's photographic delight. normally, i would overlook such small wonders in the garden but this cucumber plant was intimately living with me. i know i am growing out of season, that was kind of the idea - defy nature and all. i had a near-daily routine of lugging the big bastard (in a plastic 6 gallon pot) in and out of my living room during the cold nights - some days i had to leave the plant inside due to the cold weather with a florescent bulb rated at some 2600 lumens. as the C-7.A post exhibits, cucumbers were developing post blossom - i had over 2 dozen of the little guys throughout the plant. sad fact is - the cold weather is just too brutal - and a supermarket variety florescent is no replacement for warm sun with a plant like cucumber. so my fruits have shriveled and the leaves are going pale. i ate some of the little cucumbers as an acknowledgment of defeat - i'll let the plant grow for a spell longer but will probably soon compost it once it looks like it's had enough.
the lady bugs have migrated to other plants which i've left outdoors as they can tolerate the winter - spinach, mustard greens, brussel sprouts, snap peas - these are some of my best growers right now and can attract a variety of pest - all i ever used for pesticide is tobacco soap water - i let pouch remains of Stokkebye cigarette tobacco soak in water and drain the water through cheesecloth and then mix a little dish soap into the tobacco water - i use ivory soap or light "dishwashing liquid". nicotine is a natural pesticide and soap will dehydrate soft-body insects like aphids (which i always seem to be plagued of) - the diluted soap oxidizes before it can cause harm to the plant. anyway, having ladybugs around is a nice treat as my spraying has been cut down significantly.
i submitted a few of my more legible photos to the Lost Labybug Project but haven't heard response nor seen posting. the photos were of not only the Coccinella septempunctata star of my abstract web comic, but also of a Harmonia axyridis specimen that kinda just sat around all the time - so i really never photographed him much...
about the tech specs on how i shot these photos - it's an old trick - mounting a lens backwards - you obviously have the internet at hand, so look it up - i benefit from an array of maneuverable accouterments - most noteworthy are two synced strobes - and that's as bright as day.
so, for awhile i had quite the ecosystem in my pad - two lady beetles running amok as well as a few spiders - i always have a hard time identifying spiders but i love watching them - a couple of the spiders were likely after the same prey as the beetles but i am ever curious if the spiders would snare and enjoy the ladybugs. the two spiders first featured in the series were smaller than the beetles and probably didn't and couldn't handle a prey of that size - however a brown recluse made a meal of a large beetle under my casual observation. beetles have an incredible defense in their legs - constantly trashing at the spider's web - a brown recluse, that manages a more tangled web than an orb-weaver, can afford enough time to keep a beetle in relatively one place. when i watched the brown recluse attempt to spindle the beetle, i got bored, thinking the spider was running out of silk and the beetle would eventually kick it's way free. i made a productive way about town and came home to see the brown recluse victorious with the dark brown beetle, twice it's girth, swallowed in silk.
this same brown recluse spider was featured in C-7.04 as an attempt to spin off my entomological docu-drama - but i quickly realized that i was just fooling around for a momentary span of existence and needed to give the project an end. so a feeble effort of mine was exerted to photograph the brown recluse in it's habit - but we observe, my records would quickly turn into torture porn...
it's a predictable existence - being a spider - nonetheless, an admirable one. as previously disclosed, i am an avid admirer of the arachnid-kind. i allow this brown recluse to take residence in a corner of my apartment that sees no foot traffic, ever. the spider catches a fly or a something about every other day and never cares to venture into my shoes - one hell of a roommate. so, in this run of photos the spider has trapped one of the bugs i assume feed off the plant. at the top of the post is a shot of the drained victim, splayed out as if under autopsy. i know, right, wicked idea, i just can't give a shit to get that into it - they're just bugs, doing things bugs do.
with the indoor vegetables gone, so goes my immediate muse to the project. besides, i've bread to bake - it's subject-shifting, whatever, i can't care to define my purpose to these internet postings- but those of you who have read this far should surely understand that i'm just one dude explaining his end of the universe - and the report ain't worth a damn if only us humans read it. peace - kevo
by kevin walsh, 2010
