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September bee

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, bee, bumblebee, Canon 50D, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 11, 2013| 11 Comments »

One of the advantages to living in a relatively southern state is that summer lingers on for a bit longer and flowers continue to bloom. As long as there are flowers blooming, bees continue in their efforts to gather pollen,

I am not sure what flower this is, but it was blooming in the garden of one of my neighbors, Cindy Dyer, a fellow photographer and blogger. She plants her garden with an eye toward plants that will photograph well and when I have a few minutes to spare, I enjoy making a quick trip to her garden to see what is blooming.

When I first spotted it, I had this mental picture of the bee working in the center of the flower, surrounded by a protective little fence. I tried to frame the shot with that picture in mind and chose an angle that emphasized the “fence.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Bronze grasshopper

Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, bronze grasshopper, Canon 50D, grasshopper, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 10, 2013| 7 Comments »

Who knew that grasshoppers come in so many different sizes and colors?

I used to think that all grasshoppers were the same, but this year I have started to look at them more closely and have already seen their amazing diversity. I definitely do not know enough yet, though, to distinguish among the different species.

Two things really stood out for me in this image of a grasshopper—its coloration and its feet. The metallic sheen of its body makes it almost look like it is wearing a suit of bronze armor. I’ve never before noticed the cool little hooks at the end of the grasshopper’s feet, but you can see them easily in this shot.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Brown praying mantis

Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, praying mantis, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 10, 2013| 10 Comments »

I feel lucky whenever I spot a praying mantis, because they are usually so well camouflaged that they are virtually invisible when motionless.

I was a little surprised to see a brown one recently (all the other ones that I have seen have been green), but I can’t help but note that the brown head makes those green compound eye really stand out. I really felt like the praying mantis was looking right at me as I tried to photograph it.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Eastern Comma

Posted in Art, Butterflies, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, butterfly, Canon 50D, Eastern Comma, Eastern Comma butterfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Polygonia comma, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 9, 2013| 6 Comments »

It’s rare that I actually welcome an insect landing on me, which is usually a prelude to it biting me, but I was really happy when this Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma) decided it like the way that I tasted.

It initially landed right on my chest and began to lick my shirt and then moved over to the messenger bag in which I carry my camera gear. I carefully removed the bag and was able to get these shots while the Eastern Comma kept busy licking away my accumulated sweat (my apologies to those with delicate sensibilities, but these butterflies don’t land on pretty flowers and instead generally feed on the less photogenic sap, rotting fruit, and dung).

Normally this butterfly blends in well with its environment and is hard to see, but I guess that we would all agree that a blue Adidas bag is not its natural environment. It was also surprisingly easy to identify the butterfly. Last year I agonized in trying to decide if a butterfly I had photographed was a Question Mark or a Comma—the difference is in the shape of the white marking. Yes, those are actually the names of the butterflies. Who makes up these names? It’s the kind of job that I would enjoy.

I haven’t found any other insects named for punctuation marks, but won’t be surprised to find that there is an Asterisk caterpillar or an Ampersand beetle.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Great Blue Skimmer

Posted in Art, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, dragonfly, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on September 8, 2013| 7 Comments »

Do you ever take shots and find that you like the way that the background turned out even more than the way the subject looked? That was the case with this image of a male Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) that I photographed this past weekend.

The lighting was a bit harsh and the pose is pretty ordinary, but I love the two-tone background, caused in part by the use of my 135-400mm telephoto zoom at its full extension.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Sleeping tree frog

Posted in Amphibians, Art, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Green Treefrog, Huntley Meadows Park, Hyla cinerea, Tamron 180mm macro lens, tree frog on September 8, 2013| 14 Comments »

This little Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea) was almost hidden in the cattails, comfortably napping at midday with its legs tucked under its body. It’s nice to know that I am not the only one who enjoys a little afternoon siesta.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Blowing bubbles

Posted in Humor, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, bubbles, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Nerodia sipedon, Northern Water Snake, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, snake on September 7, 2013| 2 Comments »

Do Northern Water Snakes (Nerodia sipedon) blow bubbles in the water for fun, like I used to do as a child? Does it help them to attract prey? Are the bubbles simply a result of the snake remaining semi-submerged in the shallow marsh water as it waits for its next victim?

Whatever the reason for the bubbles, I spent some time yesterday observing this snake, hoping that I might see a successful hunt. In the end, I came up empy-handed, as the snake’s patience outlasted mine.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Another screaming hawk

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, birds in flight, Buteo lineatus, Canon 50D, hawk, Huntley Meadows Park, Red-Shouldered Hawk, screaming hawk, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 7, 2013| 12 Comments »

I have not seen any hawks at my local marsh for quite some time, so yesterday I was really happy when I heard the unmistakable sound of screaming Red-shouldered hawks (Buteo lineatus). (Check out the sound file on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website if you have never heard the cry of these magnificent birds.)

From the sound of the loud screaming, I could tell that the hawks were not far away and eventually I spotted two of them soaring above the trees. After a few minutes, one of them flew silently into view and landed in a tree across the beaver pond from where I was standing. I suspected that he would not remain very long, so I decided to try to get some shots with the lens that I happened to have on my camera at the time, my Tamron 180mm macro lens, rather than take the time to set up my tripod and change to a longer lens.

Before long, I heard the cries of the other hawk and the one that I was watching took to the air and joined in the screaming. I was a little surprise to see that it flew laterally and downward, but I was able to track it pretty well and got the in-flight shot that you see below.

I was pleased to see that the lens was able to capture a pretty good amount of contrast and detail, even in heavily-cropped images like the two that I am posting. I enjoy the challenge of attempting to capture any birds in flight and look forward to more attempts as we move out of insect season, when my macro lens is use most of the time, into bird season, when I switch to a telephoto lens.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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I only have eyes for you

Posted in Arachnids, Art, Flowers, Gardening, Humor, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged Alexandria VA, Bold Jumping spider, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, jumping spider, spider, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 6, 2013| 11 Comments »

Earlier this week I came across this little Jumping spider, patiently waiting for a prey to come by. I never fail to be amazed by those eyes that seemed to be staring right at me.

Transfixed, I can’t take my eyes off of you, tiny spider, and your eyes seem to follow me. I don’t want to seem paranoid, but when I am with you, I always feel like somebody is watching me.

Somehow I thought I heard the spider humming, “I only have eyes for you,” but it was just my imagination, running away with me.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Not hovering

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, family Syrphidae, hover fly, hoverfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 6, 2013| 4 Comments »

Hoverflies normally are as busy as bees, in constant motion as they move from flower to flower. From time to time, though, I guess that they need to rest. Earlier this week, I captured this image of a hoverfly relaxing on the dried out leaf of a cattail at my local marshland park.

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September spider

Posted in Arachnids, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Argiope aurantia, Black and Yellow Garden Orbweaver spider, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, spider, Tamron 180mm macro lens, Yellow Garden Orbweaver spider on September 5, 2013| 11 Comments »

Finally I am starting to see some of the Yellow Garden Orbweaver spiders (Argiope aurantia) that fascinated me so much last summer. These spiders are big and colorful and have awesome webs with a distinctive zigzag section. I will be keeping an eye on the spiders to see if I can observe them catching prey and wrapping it up in silk.

Stay tuned for more spiders., most likely coming pretty soon to the blog—this spider is just the first fall installment.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Pittsburgh Steelers caterpillar—a second year

Posted in Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Sports, tagged Acronicta oblinita, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, caterpillar, Huntley Meadows Park, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Smartweed caterpillar, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 5, 2013| 10 Comments »

This past weekend I came across a type of caterpillar that I first encountered last fall. Its black, yellow, and white markings once again made me think of the Pittsburgh Steelers National Footbal League team that wears those same colors.

The sports pages of the newspaper currently are saturated with articles on football, so it’s only natural that I think in those terms (and I apologize to the rest of the world for any confusion caused by the fact that we Americans use the word “football” to refer to a game that doesn’t use feet much at all and use “soccer” to refer to the other “football” game).

I enjoy referring to this caterpillar as the Steelers caterpillar, though, of course, it has a “real” name, which I think is a Smartweed caterpillar (Acronicta oblinita). Some US states have state insects, so I wonder if the Steelers would welcome a fuzzy new mascot. This could be the start of a trend and a marketing opportunity—there are more than enough caterpillar types around for each team to adopt its own.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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You just keep me hanging on

Posted in Amphibians, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Green Treefrog, Huntley Meadows Park, Hyla cinerea, tree frog on September 4, 2013| 10 Comments »

Unlike most of the tree frogs that I have encountered, this Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea) was alert and moved about a bit when I tried to take its photo—the others were resting motionless on cattail plants and seemed half-asleep.

The frog initially hid behind the cattail leaf and then tentatively poked its head out, giving me the chance to get this shot. I really like the pose that I was able to capture and the really cool details that you can see of the pads on its toes, which help it to seemingly defy gravity. (Click on the image to see a higher resolution view.)

I too would love to be able to defy gravity.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Glory bee

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, bee, bumblebee, Canon 50D, morning glory, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 3, 2013| 10 Comments »

Although it is already September and signs of autumn are starting to appear, bees continue to be as busy as ever. The blooming morning glory flowers in my neighbors’ garden attracted a bee’s attention early yesterday morning and I got these shots as it tried to figure out the optimal strategy for gathering pollen.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Gray Hairstreak buterfly

Posted in Art, Butterflies, Flowers, Gardening, Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged Canon 50D, Gray Hairstreak butterfly, hairstreak, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond VA, Strymon melinus, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 2, 2013| 15 Comments »

Small butterflies have a special, delicate beauty all their own, like this Gray Hairstreak butterfly (Strymon melinus) that I photographed in mid-August at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond, Virginia.

BugGuide states that this is the most common hairstreak in North American, but this is only the second time that I have seen one. Based on my limited observation of American women, I would assert that the blond hairstreak is the most common one, though, as a bald guy, I realize that hair is not my area of expertise.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Impressive wingspan

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria, Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm macro lens, wingspan on September 1, 2013| 8 Comments »

Coming in for a landing, this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) stretched out his wings to their full extent and the sight was mighty impressive. The wings stretched out so wide, in fact, that I couldn’t fit them entirely into the frame. As he reached the ground, the heron gradually pulled in his wings and I was able to get a couple of additional shots of the impressive wingspan.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Framed frog

Posted in Amphibians, Art, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, frog, green frog, Green Treefrog, Huntley Meadows Park, Hyla cinerea, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 1, 2013| 8 Comments »

This small Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea) was swaying in the breeze, mostly obscured by the heavy growth in the marsh, when I first spotted it. I searched for an opening to get an unobstructed shot and finally found one, looking through a circularly bent dried leaf.

The different elements of the scene, however, were all in motion at different speeds. I felt like I was playing a carnival game as I tried to aim and shoot at a target that would appear and disappear from view. Eventually I got a shot that was pretty close to the mental image that was my target and the frog was framed.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Butterfly and crabapples

Posted in Art, Butterflies, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Urban, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, crabapples, Limenitis arthemis astyanax, Red-spotted Purple butterfly, Tamron 180mm macro lens on August 31, 2013| 10 Comments »

In the townhouse community in which I live in Northern Virginia, many of us have crabapple trees in our front yards, and the fallen crabapples are a nuisance at this time of the year. However, they do provide food for certain butterflies that prefer rotten fruit to flower nectar, like this Red-spotted Purple butterfly (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) that I photographed this morning.

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Red-footed Cannibalfly

Posted in Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Promachus rufipes, Red-footed Cannibalfly, robber fly, Tamron 180mm macro lens on August 31, 2013| 39 Comments »

If you were an insect or even a hummingbird, you would definitely not want to encounter this large insect with the macabre moniker of Red-footed Cannibalfly (Promachus rufipes), also known as the Bee Panther.

This insect is considered to be a giant robber fly. Robber flies in general are predators that wait for their prey to fly by and then attack it. Wikipedia describes the attack in this way, “The fly attacks its prey by stabbing it with its short, strong proboscis injecting the victim with saliva containing neurotoxic and proteolytic enzymes which very rapidly paralyze the victim and soon digest the insides; the fly then sucks the liquefied material through the proboscis.”

It’s hard to believe that a fly could actually take down a hummingbird, but bugguide, which I have found to be a good reference for insects, notes that there have been reports of a Red-footed Cannibalfly attacking a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

When I first saw this insect fly by, I thought it was some strange kind of hairy dragonfly, but the more that I looked at it, the more I realized that it was not a dragonfly—the eyes and wings were all wrong. I have spotted several of these flies already, but so far have not seen any with captured prey.

I came across a wonderful commentary on these insects in a blog called Ohio Birds and Biodiversity that sums up my feelings about them—”Be thankful these insects aren’t the size of Sandhill Cranes.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Grasshopper close-up

Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, close-up, grasshopper, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm macro lens on August 30, 2013| 7 Comments »

My goal for this photo was pretty simple—move slowly toward this grasshopper and get a good close-up shot. I think that I achieved my goal. I love shooting with my macro lens.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Silhouettes and reflections

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, blue heron, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park, relfections, silhouettes, Tamron 180mm macro lens on August 30, 2013| 10 Comments »

Without fill-in light, a backlit subject is often in the shadows and becomes a silhouette, which is what happened in these shots of a Great Blue Heron taking off from a watery area of my local marshland park. The same sunlight in front of me also created beautiful reflections of the heron in the water, and I really like the combination of the silhouettes and reflections in these images.

This heron was getting ready to give chase to another blue heron and was squawking loudly as it took off. I watched the two herons for quite a while and this one went out of his ways several times to harass the other one and force it to search for prey in the vegetation away from the pool of water. As you can see in the second and third photos, a Great Egret was a spectator to the action, lifting up its head to observe what was going on. When things calmed down, the egret returned to its fishing until the next round of activity from the herons.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Swallowtail and cardinal flower

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, cardinal flower, Huntley Meadows Park, Lobelia cardinalis, swallowtail butterfly, Tamron 180mm macro lens on August 29, 2013| 7 Comments »

I love the look of this black-colored swallowtail butterfly feeding on a cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) in the marsh—I just wish that I could identify the butterfly with greater certainty.

I used to think that there were only a few varieties of black-colored swallowtails, but as I learn about more species, I get more confused when trying to identify them. Most of the time I think that this is a Pipevine Swallowtail, but at other moments I convince myself that this is a Spicebush Swallowtail or even a Black Swallowtail. Whatever species it is, this butterfly kept its wings flapping pretty quickly as it was feeding, which accounts for the motion blur in the wings.

I really like the color and shape of the cardinal flower and wanted to show some of the buds and petals, so I decided not to crop the shot any tighter. I was a little surprised to find this butterfly on the cardinal flower, because I read in one document on the internet that these flowers are pollinated almost exclusively by hummingbirds.

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Munching on mallow

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Handsome Meadow Katydid, Hibiscus moscheutos, Huntley Meadows Park, katydid, mallow, Orchelimum pulchellum, Swamp Rose Mallow, Tamron 180mm macro lens on August 29, 2013| 7 Comments »

Looking into a Swamp Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos), I immediately noticed the distinctive colors of a Handsome Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum pulchellum), feeding on the center stalk of the flower.

The katydid did not move from its position and merely cocked its head a little to the side and glanced up at me with its striking blue eyes. It seemed to be a little irritated to be disturbed, though I must confess that it’s really hard to gauge the emotions of an insect from its expressions.

The Handsome Meadow Katydid is one of my favorite insects and, in my humble opinion, truly deserves its name. In addition to its rainbow coloration and distinctive eyes, it has the cutest little feet and toes.

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Backlit Viceroy

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, backlighting, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Limenitis archippus, Tamron 180mm macro lens, Viceroy butterfly on August 28, 2013| 6 Comments »

I love backlit subjects, especially when the light shines through from behind and provides a stained glass effect, as was the case with this Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus).

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Laughing heron

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, Huntley Meadows Park, laughing, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, turtles on August 28, 2013| 12 Comments »

Do Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) have a sense of humor? What would prompt one to burst out in laughter?

Maybe one of the many turtles surrounding the heron’s feet decided to tickle them. (Click on the photo to get a better look at the turtles).

Perhaps he is preparing for an audition for the reality television show America’s Got Talent. What’s his talent? Judging from his appearance, I’d say this heron might have a future as a stand-up comic. I might have captured hims as he was trying out new material on the turtles, which are notoriously tough as judges—you have to be really funny to be able to penetrate those thick shells.

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An odd couple

Posted in Dragonflies, Humor, Insects, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, canon 50, Common Whitetail dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, odd couple, Plathemis lydia, sunbathing, Tamron 180mm macro lens, turtle on August 27, 2013| 25 Comments »

It’s hard to imagine an odder couple than this dragonfly and this turtle, sunbathing together on a log in the beaver pond. What do they see in each other? How do they communicate? Love seems to find a way to overcome obstacles like these.

One thing is clear—they are happy together, sharing this special moment in the warmth of the sun. If you don’t believe me, check out the smile on the turtle’s face.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Dragonfly on leaf

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Blue Dasher, Blue Dasher dragonfly, Canon 50D, dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Pachydiplax longipennis, Tamron 180mm macro lens on August 27, 2013| 8 Comments »

Most dragonflies choose perches high in the air, but this male Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) decided to land on a little plant just inches above the surface of the water at my local marsh, creating a photographic challenge for me.

Hanging over the edge of the boardwalk, I tried to get at eye level with the dragonfly and simultaneously sought an uncluttered background. In the first image, I was successful in shapes of the leafs, achieving a kind of three-dimensional effect. The water turned into an almost even gray, totally lacking in details. The second image gives you a better sense of the context, with the ghostly plants in the background.

The Blue Dasher dragonfly is the most common one that I see and it’s always a challenge to come up with creative new ways to show off its beauty. For this one day, I feel like I successfully met that challenge.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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World in a raindrop

Posted in Art, Landscape, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged abstract, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, leaf, rain, raindrops, Tamron 180mm macro lens on August 26, 2013| 16 Comments »

When drops of rain bead up on the surface of a leaf, the effect is magical—a world of crystal orbs is created. Most of the time the drops appear almost solid, reflecting back the light.

From certain angles, though, the raindrops serve as lenses, offering us a miniature view of the world. Within the drops, the inner world and the world beyond come together and create a beautiful effect.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Spiders galore

Posted in Arachnids, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, famly Tetragnathidae, Huntley Meadows Park, Long-jawed Orb Weaver spider, spiders, Tamron 180mm macro lens on August 25, 2013| 7 Comments »

I seem to be seeing spiders everywhere recently, so I thought I’d feature photos of three of them to represent the wide diversity of the population that I have observed.

The first one was very small and appeared to be hiding at the bottom of this leaf, waiting for its prey to come along. It did not appear to have made a web.

The second one had a web suspended over the water and is, I believe, a kind of long-jawed orb weaver of the Tetragnathidae family. It has awfully long legs compared to most other spiders. I usually see them making webs late in the day as the sun is beginning to go down.

The final one is a kind of spider that I see pretty regularly, though I don’t know what kind it is. It appears to have captured some prey, perhaps a grasshopper.

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Smeared Dagger

Posted in Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Acronicta oblinita, Canon 50D, caterpillar, Smeared Dagger Moth caterpillar, Tamron 180mm macro lens on August 25, 2013| 18 Comments »

Who makes up these crazy names? Freddy Krueger? Jason? Believe it or not, this colorful little caterpillar is called a Smeared Dagger Moth caterpillar (Acronicta oblinita). Someone obviously had been been watching too many slasher or horror films.

Fortunately, it has another name—it is also called a smartweed caterpillar.

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Dusky Stink Bug

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria, bug, Canon 50D, Dusky Stink Bug, Huntley Meadows Park, stink bug, Tamron 180mm macro lens, VA on August 24, 2013| 9 Comments »

I probably should have come up with a more creative title for this posting than the name of the featured insect. I mean, really, how many readers will be enticed to read a posting about a Dusky Stink Bug (Euschistus tristigmus)? I word “stink” is enough to turn off some people.

Stink bugs are pretty much all shaped the same, but they come in different colors and patterns, many of which are similar, so identification is not always easy. In this case, for example, I had to determine if the shoulders were rounded or pointed to distinguish between two brown stink bugs—they look pointed to me.

The stink bug was hanging upside down, feeding on a plant that I can’t identify, when I encountered him. He seemed to be feeding, although I never did get a look at his face in order to verify my assumption. The upside down perspective is a little odd and I thought about rotating the image, but ultimately decided to leave it with its original orientation.

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