September 30th, 2005. The autumn air has slowed the pace of the insect world. There are far less bees. flies and
the grasshoppers have all mated and are dieing off. I've noticed the grasshoppers go through stages of coloring. Some
get raggedy looking, losing limbs and turning a dark olive green. The carpenter bees are appearing on the driveway and
porch, some dead, others are just too cold to move. I found I could pick up a yellow jacket and not get stung.
I started taking insect pics this year as soon as I thought of it, and my photography has become a log of when what
insect will appear at what time of the year. I have found certain insects will make a short appearence, then you don't
see them for the rest of the season. Some insects, like the yellow jackets, are around from mid spring to mid autumn.
Here are a honey bee and a caterpillar still on active duty!
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There is quite a frantic pace going on here in my flower beds, with the bees competing with each other and the other
bugs. This bee is a little more aggressive than the honey or the carpenter bees. I saw this type of bee attack a
carpenter bee twice his size, apparently because the carpenter bee was too close to him in the Russian Sage bush!
He hit the carpenter bee in the back. The carpenter bee buzzed his wings in response, but didn't take the hint. The
other bee then landed on the back of the carpenter bee, covering the carpenter bees' wings so he couldn't fly. Both
of them fell to the ground with a thud! A few seconds later, up flew the carpenter bee, with the smaller bee right
behind him. The carpenter bee then circled the sage and finally flew to the other side of the bush,with the small
bee finally leaving it alone!
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I found there are many different types and names of dragonflies. Here is a blue water skimmer.
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This Japanese Beetle is determined to get to the cone flower's nectar one way or another!
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I don't know what this is, but he sure looks to be from the '70s!
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'Said the spider to the...mosquito?'.
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The honey bees love my coneflowers.
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This small grasshopper is enjoying a sweet snack and sharing it with an inchworm and another unidentified bug at the
lower left of the flower.
An interesting note- While this grasshopper was trying to enjoy his meal, an unidentified fly attacked him repeatedly.
Every time the fly dove at him, he would snap at it with his long jumping legs. It's amazing the ways each insect has
to defend against an attacker.
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I have no idea what this insect is.
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The bugs have been awesome and very cooperative this year! I have photographed a hornet, spiders, leafhoppers,
crickets, butterflys, snails, and caterpillars.
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Virginia Ctenuchid Moth7105
Dragonflies. A little larger and not quite as graceful as the smaller damselfly. They do not fold their wings up
as the damsels do upon landing. I watched this dragonfly guard his little piece of the pond by chasing away any others
which came near. They will sit there and twist their head about watching for intruders.
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I stood there watching tiny 'moths' flutter around in a small patch of light coming through the darkness created by
the wild grapevines growing overhead in the honeysuckle. I noticed a damselfly hovering around only about 10 inches
away. I started to take the damselflys' picture, when the damselfly shot into the light patch and scooped up one of
the tiny moths. I could see the damselfly actually catch the moth with its' legs. They have six legs, each covered
with hair-like barbs, which creat a 'basket' or 'net' when brought in together. He took the moth back to the same
branch he was on before, and I shot him eating the moth!
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A few more macro photos...
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I'm not sure if this is a fly or a bee...It has a great hovering ability, and is extreamly fast! It also has a long
siphon for drinking nectar.
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We made a trip to Harsens Island on May 29th, 2005 and spent the night. My wife and I took a late night walk and heard
some monsterous frogs! The next morning we took a walk and heard them again. We found them. The larger of two Bullfrogs
was about 8 inches long-just sitting there! He had to be about 5 inches wide. I have never seen a frog this big!
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Here are a few recent bug pics.
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My friend Daryl Engelhardt raises fish. He had found a few damselfly larva while searching for pond life to feed his
fish. He gave them to me to photograph. Here they are!
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Here are a few more bees and pond life...
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Can any one tell me what kind of larve this might be?
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I love the summertime (though i'm a bit early...)! The warmth is bringing out the green plant life, and the insects
come out with them!
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Honey bee52605b
It feels like summer has finally come to Memphis, Michigan! I took my sons out to the Belle River to check out the
wild life. Near the river is a small pond covered with alga. I noticed a large snapping turtle diving from the far bank
as we approched. The pond was loaded with large Green frogs, and a few Leopard frogs. We stopped to try our hand at frog
catching. We had fun. I do better catching them in photos!
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You learn many things while doing macro photography. It is amazing that there are many insects which help in the
pollinating of flowers! I have seen a lot of bees, but was surprised to find ants do their share of pollinating. They
eat from the bottom of the inside of the flower, and come out with pollen attached to the hairs on their bodies.
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Dronefly4805
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Pelecinid Wasp81804
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Broad-winged damselfly81504
Orange Bluet81604
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Northern Bluet9804
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Pelecinid Wasp81504
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inchworm81904
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Ebony Jewelwing8804b
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Drone fly8604
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Nature photography was always my primary interest, but lacking the time and the necessary equipment, i've made my
studies on more available objects: day and night time atmostpheric phenomenon. On occasion, I come across something
that is waiting for me, like a large yellow and black butterfly, or a bee syphoning nector from a flower.
There is a lot of life existing along the creeks and rivers around here in Memphis, Michigan. There are a lot of
snapping turtles, some being over 14" in diameter! You may hold the little ones, but you leave the big ones alone!
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Here we have a frog and a toad hanging around the edge of the river...
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I spotted this snail hanging from the lower limb of a small tree. Before I could shoot it, it fell to the ground. From
there, I turned it bottom-side-up to photograph. It took a few minutes for the snail to emerge, but it was worth it.
It is as if the head materializes from nothing!
