A Longhorn Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus) hides behind his dinner. Like many beetles, his usual escape maneuver is to drop and roll when danger approaches. This one was so intent on his meal of a young, tender milkweed leaf that his only recourse was to freeze to blend in somehow. Well, a bright red beetle is […]
It is party time in the Monarda patch! While milkweed is the clear champion of insect diversity, monarda or bee balm attracts a tremendous number of airborne pollinators. A particular favorite is the sphinx moth, frequently called the hummingbird moth. They are tricky to capture. They are not as skittish as butterflies, but they have […]
Three different views of a male Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella). I was working on getting the sun behind the animal. The last of the three is the standard view, actually taken a couple of days ago at the same location. These big dragonflies have a helpful habit of picking favorite perches on which they spend […]
A bumblebee sleeps on a brochure rack. She is waiting out the cold spell that arrived abruptly last night. Two days ago, temperatures we in the upper 80s; today, upper 50s–and that’s being generous. The letters of the brochure beneath give a different context than the usual flower or leaf. Taken with a Nikon D90 […]
Having a lot of capable photographic equipment can be a distraction as much as a blessing. I do not have a lot of stuff compared to many. Notice that the byline of this blog is “Nikon DSLR Photography on a Budget” for a reason. However, what I do have has tremendous versatility. So much so […]