Making a living

I am a bit of a martyr when it comes to insect bites and spend much of the summer sporting an unsightly assemblage of red bumps. However my reaction is pretty mundane compared to the spectacular response of many plants. 
This sad Amphibious Bistort has been attacked by the gall midge Wachtliella persicariae. The midges overwinter as pupae in the soil and the adults emerge in the spring and lay eggs on the folds of immature leaves.  The eggs take 2-10 days to hatch into larvae that begin feeding on the leaves.  The leaf margins respond by become tightly curled into distorted tubes, which turn red, then brown and brittle.  The larvae continue to feed and grow safely within the tubes and eventually drop off into the soil where they pupate, eventually  to emerge as adults next year! 

Lions enjoy a very different mode of life! This is a scan of a photograph that  I took in the Kruger Park in South Africa quite a few  years ago. An unfortunate giraffe had done the splits whilst being chased by lions, with the inevitable  result!