Changing Things Up

First, no baby.  Our due date is Monday.  We are anxious.

Second, the oak is gone.  It is a giant weight lifted off our shoulders, literally.

Third, I will say again, Instagram is THE BOMB.  I'm loving it.  Two photos a day, one in the morning, one in the evening.  And I'm meeting other amazing people there who produce wonderful photographs.  And I'm seeing a wide variety of styles of macro images, which leads me to today's post:

I'm bored of using the same old lenses in the same old style, and today, I turned my eye away from the technical to the artistic. Using an ancient Vivitar zoom designed for the Pentax screwmount film cameras, coupled with an adapter and extension tubes, I came up with the following imagery for today's blog.  The theme will become clear. After all, it is October!

Think of us, think of Megan, and send us labor vibes!  We need them.....

-Tom

Red Aphids- Genus Uroleucon?

This year, I haven't found any of the yellow colored, non-native Oleander aphids, but we do have a fairly nice colony of these red aphids.  Perhaps these belong to the genus Uroleucon?  It seems there isn't much information readily available about aphids. Perhaps aphids are the next big thing.  Do I see a aphidapalooza festival in the future? Probably not, but they are fascinating creatures, though. These individuals are feasting on my double flowered green-headed coneflower, Rudbeckia laciniata 'Hortensia'.  This Victorian era "heirloom perennial" has been passed through our family- our clone originated from relatives in northeast Indiana.  Calling it an heirloom perennial seems to be a bit out of place, however, since I also read that it was affectionately known as "the outhouse plant".

-Tom

Common Eastern Firefly - Photinus pyralis

I suspect that the humidity was so high this evening, that this "lightning bug" had to prepare its wings for its nightly flight.  It took several warm up runs leading up to sunset.  Each time I thought it would take off, but no, it was just getting ready.

Also- check the previous post, I've updated it with the help of www.bugguide.net

-Tom

More Insects from the Backyard Native Plant Gardens

Hyphantria cuneata - Fall Webworm Moth - Hodges #8140

Dark-Winged Fungus Gnat (Sciaridae)

Glyphipterigid sedge moth- possibly the genus Diploschizia

All awaiting I.D.'s via www.bugguide.net

-Tom

Common Green Bottle Fly

It's time to look for bugs in the backyard again.

-Tom

Crab Spider vs. Ogre Fly

This action unfolded earlier this week on the flowering stem of little bluestem, right in our backyard.

-Tom

Brody is my Bug Kid

Look what we found yesterday- all by rock flipping and looking closely at our natural garden areas, right here in Worthington Ohio, within the Metro-Columbus area outerbelt.

He has no problem holding things.  Not at all.

-Tom

Autumn Leaves

Thank you to River Mud, Scott, and Beyond my Garden for chiming in on yesterday's barrier island post.  Today, it's just pretty pictures. Happy fall.

-Tom

Continuing with the Predator, Prey Theme..........

The Spiny Assassin Bug, Sinea spiniceps

-Tom

Two Flies, One Human

August 16th, 2011, Delaware County, Ohio

Can you Tell I'm on a Roll? Leafhoppers!

I photographed these two species yesterday for the first time- I hope I find more today, they're really cool.  The diversity of insects, creatures that are so tiny and overlooked, is truly amazing.

-Tom

Peck's Skipper

I think- Let me have it if I'm wrong!  Nectaring on teasel.  This one is also from my lunchtime photo foray this past Monday.

-Tom

Katydid, Profile

Yesterday's Katydid, this time, a side view.  Has anyone heard about any Pink Katydids being discovered this year? 

-Tom

Farewell to Rocky Mountain National Park

The calendar tells me its August, but I'm not quite sure I believe it.  Do you?  Yes- it's been ridiculously hot outside for a long time.  But I'm just not ready for it to be the last month full of summer.  Unfortunately, I don't have a choice- so it's be ready or nothing. 

I hope you've enjoyed my Colorado images.  I spent ALOT of time photographing in the park, and I wanted to take the time to carefully select my best images and present them here.  So much of blogging typically involves the day-to-day activities. But I wanted to take the time to explore a photographic topic in depth.  I hope you've been enjoying it.  If you haven't- let me know with a comment or e-mail.

With these four images, I'll be bringing the Rocky Mountain National Park images to a close.  On our last full day in the park, I wanted to capture some dragonfly and damselfy images.  I went to Lily Lake to see if I could find dragons and damsels- and I did.  I also found fly fisherman, picnicers, wedding parties being photographed, and plenty of day hikers.  I had spent most of my time in the park during the week, but when I hit this spot on a Saturday, I got a taste of just how much the locals use RMNP as a quick getaway from the local cities.

The last image is perhaps one of my favorites from the trip- A lone ponderosa pine, growing in granitic bedrock, overlooking the snowcapped mountains that lead to Long's Peak.  Rocky Mountain National Park is a spectacular place.  Scenic and wildlife photographic opportunities abound.  I hope we are able to return soon. 

-Tom

Plants Rock

Friday evening I was searching for creative inspiration in the back yard.  I found that inspiration in the details of plants.  Many of you know I was a botanist for the State of Ohio for seven years- I often viewed the small details of plants with a hand lens as part of my job.  Looking at the intimate structural details of plants through my camera lens on my own time is a completely different experience.  Plants are an amazing but often overlooked part of the biodiversity of our planet.

Tom

Musical Sawfly

Last year at work we found these really cool looking caterpillars devouring a patch of  POISON IVY outside our office door.  Yes, they were eating poison ivy, and pretty much defoliating this little patch that had invaded the yew hedge.  What type of butterfly used poison ivy as a host plant, we all wondered? Well, it turned out that what we had found weren't butterfly caterpillars, but the larvae of the poison ivy saw fly.

Sawflies have a recognizable shape- there isn't much apparent separation between the thorax and the abdomen, so when the first insects to fly this year turned out to look like the picture above, I knew exactly what I was dealing with.

I got out my camera and macro lens, hoping to catch a few of these sawflies this afternoon, but I didn't have any luck.  Weston was out playing with me so I decided to grab my guitar and do a little impromtu jam in the out-of-doors.  So much for those sawflies, I'll get them another day.

Weston eventually got into some mischief, I think he climbed to the top of the turtle sandbox and was standing on it with a giant grin when I put my guitar down.  After rescuing the little guy from impending doom, I returned to the guitar, and wham, there was my sawfly, right on my pick guard.

With the camera right there, it didn't take long to snap off a few shots of this little hymenopteran.  Now to my next question to answer- what type of saw fly is it?

Tom

Images of Shawnee

 

Our trip to Shawnee State Park and Forest, September 4-6th, 2010.

Tom