Tuliptree Blossom with Guest
Another Day at Work
Apis Workers' Party
Predator
Some of Your Beeswax
Sedum Bumbler
Look of Defiance
Chicory Bee
Bumbling Bees
Garden Cafe
Buzz By Here - To Infinity and Beyond
Pick Your Poison
Blind Side Attack
On a Mission
Honey Bee on Sedum
Covering the Cosmos
Center of the Cosmos
Three's a Crowd
Popular Spot
On A Pedestal
Big Harry Fireworks Display
To Impress the Girl
Different Perspective
Sweet Ride
Perfect Little Piggies B&W
Flipping the Light Fantastic
Festival of Flights
To the Crowd's Delight
Amish Go Round
Wondersome One
The Stars In Her Eyes
Tuesday's Child
Sleeper Hold
Considering the Next Move
Sugar and Spice
Front Porch Portrait
Caged Competitor
Early Adoration
Child In the Ligtht
Stroll Through the Weeds
Attention Grabbing
Eye Contact
On the Line
Eyes of Wonder
Rounding the Curve
Troubadours of Basin Spring Park
Down by the Creek
Sun Day
Catching Some Light
EAA Fireworks
Hear Me Roar
Bugs
Orange Adorned Butterfly
This little beauty was content to pose for a photo or two. I don’t know what kind of butterfly it is. It was one of hundreds we walked among at the Butterfly Palace in Branson, MO. I was able to snap several other unique butterflies there and will share them in the days and weeks to come. Stay tuned.
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Alien Presence
Doing its best to blend in with the simple beauty of this wildflower, a stealthy crab spider awaits an unsuspecting victim.
I love watching the viewers reaction to shots like this. At first you see the beauty of the flower. An instant later, your brain registers the spider. How did you respond?
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Look of Defiance
This menacing looking insect was kind enough to pose for a profile picture. It was a cool fall day, so he was pretty lethargic and moving slowly.
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Thick as Thieves
This seems to be an early autumn convention of Boxelder bugs. They’ve congregated at the bottom of a tree.
When it begins to cool down in Wisconsin, these bugs may form large aggregations while sunning themselves in areas near their host plant – usually maple or ash trees. I’ve also seen them gather in other odd places…the corner of a building, around a door way, etc.
They are harmless to humans but considered nuisance pests. When the temperatures begin to cool in the fall, they sometimes invade houses and other man-made structures seeking warmth or a place to overwinter.
People often mistaken them with insects known as Stink Bugs – a different species. However, boxelder bugs will release a pungent and bad-tasting compound upon being disturbed to discourage predation; this allows them to form conspicuous gatherings without being preyed on.
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Chicory Bee
On a cool, cloudy day, I caught this bumble bee in a sluggish mood. He wasn’t buzzing from bloom to bloom but seemed content to rest on this common chicory flower.
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Right at Home
This soldier bug seemed snug as a bug…in a marigold. These flowers are part of a potted arrangement my wife, Sara, put together to brighten up our driveway.
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Bumbling Bees
This is summertime scene that can be found everywhere in the world where flowers bloom. These bees are busy collecting pollen needed for producing honey. This small clump of flowers in the flowerbed on the side of our house seemed to be a popular spot.
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Wild and Woolly
This is one hungry, little dust-mop! Look at how much of that leaf it’s already consumed. It is a Milkweed Tussock Caterpillar.
When I took this picture, I didn’t notice the interesting, synchronized curl to those orange and white tufts of hair. It just looked like your run-of-the-mill fuzzy caterpillar. Enlarging the image, often reveals surprising aspects of the insect world.
By the way, the head is that shiny black part on the edge of the leaf, mostly covered by hair. (He needs to trim his bangs.)
This was actually in a very difficult spot to photograph due to other vegetation being in the way. To try and get a better shot, I slowly, gently bent the leaf he was on. They must not have sticky feet because, at the slightest angel, it immediately slid off the leaf and into the dense weeds below…never to be seen again.
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Garden Cafe
On a walk though the woods I came upon this crab spider enjoying his freshly caught lunch.
The crab spider will just sit still near the center of the flower, doing it’s best to blend in. When an unsuspecting insect lands to gather pollen, the snatches it and lunch is served.
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Hummingbird Moth Caterpillar
This monster caterpillar was found decimating the primrose patch in our flowerbed. It is a Hummingbird Moth Caterpillar.
This bad boy, complete with dangerious looking spike on his tail, was about 4-inches long.
It took a bit of research online by my wife, Sara, to identify this particular species. The hummingbird moth is a large moth that is often mistaken for hummingbirds because they are about the same size and flit from flower to flower like hummingbirds.
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