A Halloween Gallery

[nut-skulls]

…Of mostly spiders, even though I personally think spiders are only scary if you’re an insect—

-At which point they could be very scary indeed.

["Help me..."]

In any case, spiders are remarkably abundant and diverse, and there’s nothing like owning a macro lens to realize that—and make others realize it as well.

[I did say "mostly" spiders]

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To Every Thing There Is a Season

Tern, tern, tern...

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For Lump Day: Fall Dog series (I)

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Flamingo Friday: Action Preen

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In Defense of “Stink” Bugs

Since late August, various newspapers and online blogs—even such supposedly venerable publications as the Washington Post—have been promulgating horror stories about the (aiieee!) invasion of “stink bugs” into people’s homes.

These insects are doing what several insect species, including ladybugs, like to do, which is find a warm place to hibernate for the winter. All they want is to wedge themselves into an eave, windowsill, or ceiling corner and wait out the cold.

I understand that someone might be nonplussed by an influx of hundreds of insects into their home. But by and large the hype doesn’t seem at all justified. Around here, exactly one bug has attempted to take up residence in our house—in a very unassuming corner of the bathroom window—and it has since disappeared.

Also, the “stink” these bugs produce is apparently a smell quite similar to cilantro, so I have even less sympathy for those who complain about them.

And finally, I have found them to be nothing but accommodating during my macro-lens photo shoots in the neighborhood. With exemplary traits like these, I don’t see how stink bugs could be considered anything but pleasant and admirable insects.

And with that, ladies and gentlemen (and others), I rest my case.

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Best Lunch Hour Ever

Early in October, summer breathed—or perhaps exhaled—a steamy last gasp in DC, with temperatures reaching almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

All the invertebrate life of the city, which had slowed down during the dry and chill September, was out in force.

As I often do, I decided to talk a lunchtime walk with my camera to see what I could see.

I was admiring a garden-full of hollyhocks when I noticed a surprising visitor on one of the flowers.

It was a praying mantis!

This is an insect that, ever since I got my macro lens, I’d been dying to see but had not yet spotted.

Thrilled as I was, I spent a good half an hour in the midday sun getting moderate heat-stroke and taking picture after picture of the insect as she (we’ll say "she") navigated her way along the stems and flowers of the hollyhocks.

I won’t dwell on the behavior of mantids (though see my post, “You’re never too old to learn about sexual cannibalism” for more on that topic), but I will say that I had never before realized how mantids combine elegance with a sort of scissory, alien awkwardness in their movements.

I also hadn’t realized, though I should have, how very aware these predators are of another’s gaze. While the mantis seemed only occasionally cautious of me, she kept her eye on my camera and me quite regularly—resulting in some fun photos.

In fact, I think the best indication of the effectiveness of the pictures and the insect was the observation of a friend to whom I emailed a photo, who wrote:

“That scared me. I like it.”

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Flamingo Friday: The Gossips

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Flamingo Friday: We Are All in the Gutter...

...But some of us are feeding in the mud.

Not sure if that was quite Oscar Wilde's sentiment, but it works for me.

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Syrphid U.S.A.

Everybody’s gone syrphid, syrphid U.S.A.…
[with apologies to the Beach Boys]

[click to enlarge these photos! you won't regret it!]

These days, one of my favorite subjects for macro photography is the hover fly, also known at the common oblique syrphid fly. These guys are bee look-alikes that hang out in flowers, often alongside actual bees. Like bees, they’re there for the nectar, and like bees, they can be important pollinators.

This particular hover fly kept being pushed off its sunflower by the arrival of larger carpenter and bumble bees, but as soon as the heavies moved on, it came back, often pausing to pose in an extremely photogenic way.

I haven’t been able to find a lot of information on hover flies and their habits, but the Peterson Field Guide to Insects (Borror and White, 1970) informs me that syrphid flies can be identified by “a spurious vein” in their wings.

This doesn’t seem like the most helpful identifying marker for an animal this small and frenetically active, but I have to say, I love the phrase. I think if a bunch of hover flies ever start up a band, they should call themselves Spurious Vein.

And that’s the extent of my Monday musings.

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Flamingo Friday: "He said WHAT about my head-flagging technique??"

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One Shot: Dreamy Bee

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