Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Canon 55-250mm zoom lens’

Industrial growth

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 13, 2012| 6 Comments »

I was photographing my typical assortment of flowers and insects at a local garden yesterday when I came upon a scene that grabbed my attention. A delicate vine was starting to wrap itself around an industrial-looking pipe. I was struck by the juxtaposition of the new life of the tiny leaves and the rusty, scuffed-up decay of the pipe. The scale of the two subjects and their very different colors also provided a sense of contrast.

I did not fully manage to capture the image I had in my head. However, I decided to share my favorite image of the pipe and the vine. Usually I crop at least a bit, but in this case I decided to use the full image as it came out of the camera, with some minor adjustments to the exposure. I composed it in the camera pretty much the way I wanted it to look (and yes I know I’m supposed to do that all of the time).

This was an interesting experiment in shooting something totally different, all part of a learning process as I seek to express myself in my images.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Green heron on a limb

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on August 13, 2012| 2 Comments »

This past weekend seems to have been my heron weekend. I posted some photos of a great blue heron that I saw on Saturday. However, I realize that hadn’t yet gone through all of my photos from Friday, which included this shot of a green heron perched on the dead limb of a tree.

The tree was overlooking a muddy pond and I couldn’t tell if the green heron was just resting or whether he was preparing to hunt for prey. The situation afforded me an unobstructed view of the green heron and I quickly started taking some shots, suspecting (as turned out to be the case) that my luck would not hold for long. The green heron soon jumped from his perch and moved farther away into some undergrowth when he focused his attention on the water.

I was totally fascinated and watched him from a distance for quite a while. Several times he “alerted” by extending his neck and leaning toward the water, but I didn’t managed to see him catch anything.

This image captures some of  of the green heron’s gorgeous colors. I especially like the chestnut color around his neck and the intensity of the yellow of his eyes.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Reflection of a white dragonfly

Posted in Bugs, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 13, 2012| 2 Comments »

I took this photo at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Virginia, a marshland area that has lots of wildlife. I have managed to get lots of shots of Blue Dasher dragonflies but have had trouble getting a properly exposed image of the Common Whitetail dragonfly. The white body is usually blown out and overexposed in my images. (If you want to know some more about this type of dragonfly, check out the article in Wikipedia as a start.) This past Friday was mostly overcast and I finally got some decent photos.

I like the way this particular image turned out because of the dragonfly’s reflection in the muddy brown pond water, the little stump that pokes out of the water, and the green stalk that runs diagonally across the photo.

Male Common Whitetail dragonfly (Plathemis lydia), also known as a Long-tailed Skimmer.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Fishing with a blue heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on August 12, 2012| 2 Comments »

Here is a close-up of a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) who has just speared a fish of an unknown type. I was able to watch the whole process from the shoreline of the pond and took some shots.

I note that the photo here is not a super crisp, clear image. It is a crop of a shot that I had to tweak because of some problems getting the exposure right (reflected light off the water and shadows were both problem), but I like the fact that you can see both the heron’s and the fish’s faces.

In a posting on 24 July I showed a green heron swallowing a frog whole. I was not able to see how this blue heron consumed the fish because he carried it into a shaded area along the shoreline.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Blue heron with open mouth

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 12, 2012| 5 Comments »

Here is another shot of a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) that I photographed 11 August 2012 in Alexandria, Virginia.

At first I couldn’t figure out why he had his mouth open in so many of my pictures. As I went over the photos, however, it looks like he may have had a stick or bone stuck in his mouth. Is that possible? Earlier in the day I watched as he speared and ate a fish and it’s possible he picked up some debris when he caught the fish (my photos of him spearing the fish turned out really dark but I’ll see if I can salvage any to post).

Eventually he did close his mouth.

Click on the image for greater details.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Wading Great Blue Heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on August 12, 2012| 6 Comments »

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) photographed 11 August 2012 in Alexandria, Virginia.

Click on photo for greater details.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

A Swallowtail in a different light

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 12, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The angle of the lighting and the unusual framing of this photograph of a female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) set it apart from other photos I have taken of the same species. (See my postings from 8 August and 21 July for other shots of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.)

The light is uneven and there are areas that are not sharp, but I like the overall effect of the photograph.

Click on the image to see more details.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

American Painted Lady

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 12, 2012| 4 Comments »

Today I photographed an American Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa virginiensis), which is also know as an American Lady.

At first I thought it was a Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui), a type that I had previously photographed (see my posting from 3 August). A closer examination and some internet research showed it was not the same butterfly.  You can find more information in Wikipedia but the easiest identification features for me were the eyespots on the ventral side—the American Painted Lady has two large eyespots and the Painted Lady has four smaller ones.

I learned a good lesson today too about the need to carry a camera with me as often as possible. I took this photo at the outdoor sales area at a local Home Depot store.

American Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa virginiensis)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Coy young duck

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on August 11, 2012| 4 Comments »

I came across some ducks this afternoon while walking around a man-made pond in my suburban neighborhood and decided to take a few shots.

This is my favorite photo. I think is a juvenile male mallard duck (corrections are welcome) on the basis of some quick internet searching. I am particularly struck by the expression on his face and in his eyes as well as by the beautiful, iridescent blue feathers on his tail.

He definitely seems shy, or perhaps he is merely being coy, being an inexperienced young drake.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Do you come to this plant often?

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , on August 10, 2012| 5 Comments »

Every now and then when I am focusing intently on an insect and trying to set up a shot, other insects creep into the frame. Only later, when I am looking at the photos on my computer screen, do I realize that they are there. My friend, Cindy Dyer, likes to call them “bonus bugs.”

This morning as I was looking at some recent wasp photos, I realized that there was a black shield bug in one of them. The shot is not that great technically, but I think that the combination of the two very different insects makes for an interesting photo, particularly because the wasp seems to have noticed the shield bug.

To me the moment is reminiscent of the bar scene in the Star Wars movie in which all kinds of different alien creatures are interacting. Click on the link to a You Tube video if you’ve never seen this classic piece of film history.

This photo really is begging for a clever caption and I’d welcome any suggestions.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Wasp with an attitude

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 10, 2012| 6 Comments »

Bees and butterflies seem to get all the love. Where is the love for the lowly wasp? Maybe wasps need a public relations firm to give them a new image.

This photo from a recent shoot suggests one approach to that new image—an edgy, radical image. The wasp already appears to be sporting a mohawk hairstyle and large, dark sunglasses. Some piercings and a few tattoos and the new image would be complete.

The result—a cool new image for the wasp to match the attitude he already possesses.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Bee on salvia flower

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 10, 2012| 3 Comments »

Whenever I am shooting flowers of any sort I am inevitably drawn to bees. I love watching them flying and hovering, back and forth and in and out of the flowers.  Sometimes a bee seems to be systematically covering a group of flowers and other times he seems to be choosing randomly where to touch down before moving on, relentlessly in motion.

Here are a couple of recent shots of carpenter bees on a plant that I have been told is called salvia. I love its deep purple color and simple flowers. The first shot is a closeup of a bee. The second one gives you a better idea of the shape of the flower. Note that in both cases the bee is getting the nectar from the side of the flower and is therefore not pollinating it.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Unmistakably basil

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , on August 9, 2012| 3 Comments »

It was after 7:00 pm yesterday evening and my urge to take photos was still not satisfied. I had wandered through the garden of my neighbor, Cindy Dyer,  whose photographs and flowers are a constant source of inspiration, but had come up empty, except for some shots of a striped cucumber beetle.

I decided to check out her front porch herb garden to see if there were any interesting bugs to shoot, but there were none. My hope was fading along with the day’s light when I glanced down at a container next to her front door and saw some tiny pink and white flowers growing against a backdrop of darker leaves. I had a subject, though I was clueless about its identity.

I doubted that I would be able to capture the beauty of the little flower, but my tripod and macro lens came to my rescue. I was so excited when I pulled up the images on my computer that I immediately called Cindy to ask her what kind of pink flower she was growing on her porch. She seemed a bit confused by my question, because she couldn’t recall any flowers growing on her porch.

Open laptop in hand, I walked over to her house to show her the image and pointed out where I had shot it. All at once her eyes lit up as she realized what I had photographed. It was basil that had started to flower. I was a little incredulous, because I didn’t know that basil had flowers. Cindy then crushed a leaf and held it to my nose.

My nose revealed what my eyes and my mind had not—it was unmistakably basil.

Tiny basil flower

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Bee hug

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on August 8, 2012| 3 Comments »

The subject is simple and familiar, a bee and a flower. My eye was drawn, however, to the way this bee had latched on to the entire center of this flower in a full-bodied bee hug. The X-shape of the splayed legs and the radiating petals combine to produce a graphic effect that goes beyond the literal subject matter.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Swallowtail pattern

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , on August 8, 2012| 4 Comments »

Usually my photos are realistic, almost hyper-realistic in their macro details. Sometimes, though, I get excited by a portion of an image and the patterns and lines contained therein.

Yesterday I took some close-ups of a male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Thanks to my telephoto lens the butterfly more than filled the frame. After a bit of tweaking I ended up with an image that is almost abstract, with lots of interesting lines and shapes. You can still tell that it is a butterfly and a flower, but it has a different feel than my other butterfly shots.

I find it fun to try something completely different from time to time.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Swallowtail ladies are not all the same

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on August 8, 2012| 10 Comments »

One of the coolest things about female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies (Papilio glaucus) is that they come in two distinctly different colors, black and yellow. According to Wikipedia, that characteristic makes them dimorphic. I’m no scientist, so I had to do some research  to see what “dimorphic” means. If I understand it right, it means that there are two different phenotypes (called morphs) that exist in the same population of a species and they have to be in the same habitat at the same time to qualify.

I was thrilled yesterday to observe and photograph both variants at a local garden. The yellow ones resemble the male, although the male is only yellow and black and has no additional orange and blue markings. I have seen a lot of the yellow female swallowtails this summer. The black swallowtails, which have black bodies as well as black wings, seem to be more rare, or at least I have seen them only rarely this summer.

Which one is more beautiful? I’ll leave that call to each of you.

black_swallowtail1_6x8blog

Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (black variant) UPDATE in 2020: I think that I misidentified this as an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and now think it might be a Black Swallowtail, though the angle keeps me from being sure about the identification

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

I’m a little teapot…

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 7, 2012| 6 Comments »

As I was wandering this past weekend through the local garden where I take a lot of my photos, I came across an enchanting scene. A child-sized wrought iron table and chairs were set in the shade, with a multi-colored teapot in center of the table. In the spout of the teapot was a single red, trumpet-shaped flower.

Had a child placed the flower there earlier in the day while serving tea to real or even imaginary friends? I like to think so. For a brief moment I was transported back to the days of my youth, carefree days when summers were full of dreams and exploration.

I captured this image as a reminder of the feeling of that moment, as a reminder not to let the “serious” cares of my adult life extinguish that child-like spark of innocence, sensitivity, and creativity. It is still very much a part of me, even if it struggles to find a way to express itself.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

I need a trim (or at least a comb)

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 7, 2012| 4 Comments »

Some bees are hairy and some bees are really hairy.

Seriously, this bee looks like he could use a beauty makeover. At a minimum he needs a trip to a barber or hair stylist to trim away some of that excess hair. Look at his legs, his forehead, and his neckline. Yikes! The worst area may be the swirly hair on his back. I haven’t seen anything that bad since the days when the comb-over was a popular hair style.

Maybe he is wearing his hair long to conceal the fact that he is going thin on his back. If that’s the case, I have news for you, Mr. Bee. “You’re not fooling anyone.”  It’s time to get with modern styles, perhaps, and shave it all off.

What would a bald bee look like?

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bee…

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

King of Butterflies

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , on August 7, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) feeding on a marigold flower at Green Spring Gardens, Alexandria, VA on 6 August 2012.

Click on the photo for greater color and clarity

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Getting into and out of a tight spot

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 7, 2012| 7 Comments »

Does a bee ever get stuck when he flies (or climbs) into a flower with a narrow opening?

This question arose this afternoon when I watched a bee enter a flower so deeply that only his legs were visible. He remained in that position for some time and then he somehow was able to get back out of the flower. I am still not sure if he was stuck or how he was able to extricate himself. From my perspective, it was a feat worthy of an insect Houdini.

I shot a series of photos that illustrate the whole process. In this case the old adage is true about a picture being worth a thousand words. You will notice that I changed my vantage point part way through the shoot. (I had plenty of time while the bee was inside the flower.) I would also draw your special attention to the details of the last photo in which the bee has to act like a contortionist to get his legs out of the tight spot.

Who knew that bees were so flexible?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Reflections on a bee

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on August 6, 2012| 4 Comments »

You might think that I am going to talk philosophically about a bee, but my title is meant to be taken literally. If you click on the photo, you can actually see reflections of the sky and bushes on the shiny surface of the abdomen end of this bee.

I am pretty sure that this is a carpenter bee for two main reasons. First, the abdomen area is shiny and hairless, unlike a bumblebee who is more hairy. Secondly, the bee is sucking nectar out of the side of the flower rather than going in from the front, a process sometimes referred to as “nectar robbing.” Carpenter bees are notorious for circumventing pollination in certain plants by slitting open the side of the flower.

Perhaps others can see more reflections on the bee. It’s like looking at clouds and trying to see shapes—it’s a lot of fun and everyone sees something different. Life is like that sometimes.

Click the photo to see more details

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Green Heron on the rocks

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 6, 2012| 7 Comments »

It may sound like a new summer beverage sensation, but the title is meant to be literal.

I captured this shot of a green heron  just as the rain was beginning to fall this afternoon. I was at the same pond at a local garden where I had previously seen a juvenile green heron (and that was right after the rain). Maybe green herons like to come out to play in the rain—I’ll have to remember that in the future.

There really wasn’t enough light for a high quality image, but I think that I managed to capture the unique look and style of the green heron.

(I also got some photos of a juvenile green heron this afternoon but I’ll save them for another posting.)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Against the odds

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on August 6, 2012| 7 Comments »

Is it really possible to find inspiration and motivation in an insect?

Take a really close look at this photo of an male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus).

Do you see the delicate beauty of his colors and shapes or are your eyes drawn immediately to his infirmity? His wings are virtually shredded and there is a large portion of one of them missing.

Somehow, despite all of those limitations, he can still fly. He can defy gravity and the laws of aerodynamics.

I don’t know how he does it, but he is able to overcome adversity.  Some of the lyrics of the song “Defying Gravity” from the musical “Wicked” come into my head as I think about it.

“I’m through accepting limits ’cause someone says they’re so. Some things I cannot change but til I try I’ll never know….I’d sooner buy defying gravity. Kiss me goodbye I’m defying gravity and you can’t pull me down.”

Inspiration and motivation can come from many places, I would posit, even from insects.

Take these broken wings and learn to fly…

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Damselfly on a limb

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on August 5, 2012| 6 Comments »

I came across this tiny damselfly yesterday when I was visiting a local garden in the late afternoon. Initially I spotted her when she was flying and I was thrilled when she chose to land in a spot where I could photograph her. I apologize to the experts for not identifying the type but I find it impossible to identify damselflies (and even dragonflies are not easy).

Damselflies are particularly challenging for me to photograph because they are so long and skinny. If I photograph them from the side, the eye is often out of focus and if I try to shoot head-on, depth of field is an issue.

I ended up with a photo that I shot from above and to the side. Somehow I managed to reduce the composition to the damselfly, the branch to which she is clinging, and a couple of leaves.

I find special beauty in that kind of simplicity in nature and in my photography.

Unidentified damselfly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Dramatic portrait of a Blue Dasher dragonfly

Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 4, 2012| 5 Comments »

Four weeks ago today my friend and mentor Cindy Dyer helped me to start this blog. She has been teaching me and encouraging me as I seek to express myself through my photography. I owe her my thanks.

Over the past month I’ve tried a lot of different things: short posts and long ones; serious posts and funny ones; scientific posts and artistic ones; and scarey posts and beautiful ones. Some have been successful and others less so. The best thing about this blog, however, is that I have encountered a wide array of fellow bloggers. You have taught me so much and supported me with words of encouragement and inspiration. Thanks to all of you.

My first blog posting featured a Blue Dasher dragonfly, one of my favorite subjects. It somehow seems appropriate to feature another one as I celebrate my four-week anniversary. I photographed this Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis) in late June at Green Spring Garden, a county-run facility that has a pond as well as a garden. It is only a few miles from my house and has been a kind of laboratory for me as I have worked on my photography.

Today is a hot, humid day here in the Washington DC area and I have stayed indoors poring over some of my images from the past month or so. I came across this one and after I adjusted the exposure a bit I realized that it was a pretty good shot. The lighting and background help to make it stand out from some of my other dragonfly photos (and I have lots). I uploaded a higher resolution image to allow viewers to see some more of the details, including the “eyelashes” of the dragonfly. Be sure to click on the image.

Click on the photo for a more detailed view of the dragonfly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Shadowy insects

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on August 4, 2012| 2 Comments »

I have always been fascinated by light and shadows.

Shadows often hide or mask details of a subject, although they also may reveal elements of a subject that might otherwise be concealed. Sometimes shadows are an accurate reflection of the subject (like a silhouette), but other times they distort reality. Shadows intrigue me too because they often pick up characteristics of the surfaces on which they are cast in addition to those of the subject.

My musings on shadows were prompted by this photo of an unidentified wasp (I think it is some kind of wasp) that I shot yesterday morning. The wasp was back lit by the morning sun, causing a hidden part of his body to be revealed in the shadow.

A few months ago I decided to photograph the morning light coming through a small flower in my neighbor’s garden. As I getting ready to shoot, an ant started walking across the back of the flower. It’s not a technically good shot but I like the effect that was produced by the ant’s shadow.

Folks who follow this blog know that I love dragonflies. In early June I took some photos of dragonflies on a sunny day, resulting in lots of shadows. The dragonfly’s shadow makes me think of the position of a person hang gliding and it even looks like the dragonfly is wearing a little helmet.

The undulating surfaces on which the shadow falls really make a difference in the shape of the shadow. I especially like how the shadows of the wings fall on a separate leaf from the shadow of the main body. The shadows of the leaves themselves make this image even more interesting for me.

In this final photo a dragonfly literally is casting a long shadow. The distortion caused by the angle of the sunlight causes his legs to appear much longer and I find that this dragonfly looks much more menacing than is typical of a dragonfly.

Can a dragonfly actually look menacing?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Painted Lady

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 3, 2012| 3 Comments »

Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) photographed today at Green Spring Gardens, Alexandria, Virginia.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Back-lit Swallowtail Butterfly

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 3, 2012| 2 Comments »

Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) photographed today at Green Spring Gardens, Alexandria, Virginia.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Creature on a lavender plant

Posted in Bugs, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 1, 2012| 9 Comments »

This evening I spotted something unusual hanging from a lavender plant in my neighbor’s garden. I like to visit her garden when I come home from work in the evening because there are always flowers and insects to photograph, many of which she photographs and features in her blog.

The strange object looked a little like a misshapen pine cone and seemed to be covered in pine needles and little twigs. It was hanging from the lavender plant, swinging in the gentle breeze.

Suddenly in front of my eyes the “pine cone” thing began to shake a little, an opening appeared in the top, and a caterpillar (I think that’s what it is) began to emerge. Fortunately I had my camera in my hand because I had been taking some shots of bees.

The caterpillar emerged only partially and then returned to the homemade structure. The opening closed shut, leaving no evidence that there was a living creature inside.

My preliminary research suggests this is a kind of bagworm, although it seems a little unusual for it to make its home on a lavender plant. Wikipedia indicates that there are many species of bagworms, including one whose pupae are collected as a protein-rich food.

I don’t know if you noticed the claws on this caterpillar in the close-up photograph, but I may now have nightmares about giant clawed caterpillars (to go along with the soul-sucking robber flies of a few days ago).

Close-up of bagworm caterpillar emerging

Stepping back to see the whole “bag”

Caterpillar has gone back inside

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Hidden beauty

Posted in Bugs, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , on July 31, 2012| 7 Comments »

This butterfly looks so drab until he opens his wings and reveals his hidden beauty. It was there all the time but we couldn’t see it.

I haven’t been able to identify this butterfly that I photographed this past weekend in a meadow in Massachusetts but like the way the shot turned out.

UPDATE: I am now pretty sure this butterfly is a Common Wood Nymph (Cercyonis pegala).  Check out the Butterflies and Moths of North America website for additional details.

How much beauty do we miss each day because we fail to see past the ordinary exteriors of things (and people) in our lives and neglect to look more deeply?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Not a tiny dragonfly

Posted in Bugs, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Photography, tagged , , , , , on July 30, 2012| 6 Comments »

My eyes were so attuned to dragonflies yesterday that my first thought when I stumbled upon this insect perched at the top of a plant was that it was a tiny dragonfly. The pose especially looked familiar.

The more I looked at it, however, the more I realized that the legs and winds were all wrong and the head, which in this profile shot looks a bit like a dragonfly’s, was really different. From another angle it sort of looked like a fly, but not any fly that I had ever seen. What is it?

I think that what I have here is a robber fly (from the insect family Asilidae). So far I have not been able to get any more precise in identifying this guy’s species. The description of robber flies in Wikipedia, however, is pretty. scarey.

“The short, strong proboscis is used to stab and inject victims with saliva containing neurotoxic and proteolytic enzymes which paralyze and digest the insides; the fly then sucks the liquefied meal through the proboscis.”

Yikes! That description alone is enough to bring back flashbacks of alien movies and zombie thrillers.

I may not sleep well tonight.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »