A spreadwing damselfly among the colors of autumn. Spreadwings are damselflies; they share the slender body of most damselflies but tend to hold their wings away from their bodies rather than fold neatly over the abdomen. This species is also quite large for a damselfly, at least two inches long. We were enjoying an unusually […]
At first glance, this may appear to be the last colorful autumn leaf clinging to a branch. Actually, it is a Viceroy Butterfly clinging to a willow limb that has been stripped of its foliage. This particular willow is very popular with caterpillars of several kinds. Every late summer it gets denuded; it seems like […]
I discovered this tiger swallowtail butterfly struggling in the tall grass. He was pretty tattered. I boosted him up to an ironweed bloom for a meal. He immediately began drinking nectar from the flowers, pictured below. Hopefully my random act of kindness will buy him a little more time to a very brief life. Pardon […]
There are some that dismiss a dedicated macro lens. Oh, they say, you’ll take pictures of a few bugs and a few flowers, then it will sit in your bag. Personally, I can’t get enough of macro photography. I do get in a rut from time to time, when I realize I’ve already photographed this […]
The one-picture-a-day challenge lives on. Some days are easier that others. Today, not so much, being very busy preparing for vacation. One goal of the challenge is just to get a camera out and take something, sometimes anything. One never knows when the golden shot that puts the kids through college might pop up. I […]
The wheel bug is an impressively large 1-1/2 inch true bug. Note how the wings form a V shape on the back, characteristic if Hempitera, the true bug order of insects. I found several hanging out on blackberry bushes today. These bugs are predators; their sharp proboscis penetrates the exoskeleton of their victim. They squirt […]
Bumblebees are a sleepy lot. This cold morning a dozen of them were motionless on shaded side of the coneflower patch. Meanwhile, on the sunny side, the other bumblebees were up and at ’em.
Another old friend makes an appearance at the pond. I have been waiting for the Spread-winged Damselflies to arrive. I first noticed them several years ago here after the pond had been drained and dredged. Dragonfly populations increased significantly after that work. The spread-winged damselfly spreads its wings somewhat like a dragonfly, rather than folding […]