She’s busy as a bee! I was out of town, out of state, actually, and had just a little downtime, so I took a stroll with my camera. It was that wonderful golden hour as the sun sinks to the horizon, and there she was with her sisters, busily trying to collect as much nectar as possible before curfew. Her bread baskets are full of pollen, too.
Beautiful Honey Bee - 2011
Here’s a flashback for you. So, there I sat on the pond bank, stalking the ever wary dragon fly and damsel fly (really, I am not picky, I’ll shoot whichever will light close enough and hold still long enough!), when I turned my head and spotted this guy on a leaf really close to my head. Moving slowly, so as not to scare it off (never had I seen anything resembling this critter), I turned and focused the camera. Voila! French is not my language, so ほら！すごい虫ですねえ。
Wheel Bug - Summer 2011 - Arilus Cristatus
Well, I just called it a prehistoric-looking bug, but my friend Travis did a Google Search and came up with the common name, scientific name, and an article about the beast. It turns out it is a “true bug,” something my Dad had tried to tell me about once – that there were insects that were truly bugs, and insects that were not – a member of the Assassin Bug family. And look there on its proboscis, a little assassinated insect from which it is presumably drinking the juices!
I was so excited to make a new (to me) discovery! And there were wheel bugs all around me, once I started looking. They are really quite a large insect, I don’t know how I never noticed them before. What an absorbing hour of shooting that was 🙂
Yet another flashback photo, again of a dragonfly. I think this is my favorite dragonfly photo! He is nearly camouflaged, but so sharp and clear. You can tell it was early morning, before the dew burned off, which may be why he was not as busily flitting around on dragonfly business as they usually are.
Green Dragonfly - Flashback to Summer 2011
In another flashback to Summer of 2011, we see a perfect jewel of a dragonfly reflecting light off his (her?) faceted wings, its translucent abdomen glowing green, orange, and black. Even at rest it looks in motion with iridescent gleams of light flashing off the far wing.
Dragonfly Arrested - Flashback to Summer 2011
Perpetual motion machines, dragonflies flit around continually hunting and ever wary of those hunting them. It is rare to be able to sneak close enough to catch a living dragonfly in a photo.
Dragonfly Paused - Flashback to Summer 2011
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