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Posts Tagged ‘Rudbeckia hirta’

Hover fly and Susan

Posted in Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 21, 2023| 2 Comments »

When I first started taking nature photos more than ten years ago, I probably would have assumed that this yellow and black insect was a bee. With the benefit of accumulate experience, I can identify it as some kind of Hover Fly. Hover flies, also called flower flies or syrphid flies, are quite common—according to Wikipedia there are about 6000 species of hover flies worldwide, so I don’t feel bad that I cannot identify the species of this one.

I spotted the hover fly during a recent visit to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge as it was feeding on a Black-eyed Susan flower (Rudbeckia hirta). Both the insect and the flower are made up of varying shades of yellow and brown and they seem to complement each other pretty well. I also like the way that the lines on the petals of the flower mirror the marking on the insect’s body.

hover fly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Pearl Crescent in July

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 31, 2023| 4 Comments »

July is finally coming to an end, a month of endless hot, hazy, and humid days. It has been tough to get myself motivated to go out with my camera and I have been forced to keep my outings relatively short. Weather-wise autumn is my favorite time of the year, but we have a lot more summer weather to endure before the cooling temperatures of autumn arrive.

During a recent visit to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge I was delighted to spot this Pearl Crescent butterfly (Phyciodes tharos). It was feeding in a patch of what looked to be Black-eyed Susan flowers (Rudbeckia hirta), although I must confess that I am not very good at identifying flowers, so my identification may not be accurate.

Initially the little butterfly perched with its wings only partially open, but I waited patiently and eventually it fully extended its wings and I was able to capture this image. It is a relatively simple composition, but I really like the way that it gives you a sense of the environment while also showing you the beautiful markings of the Pearl Crescent butterfly.

pearl crescent

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Skipper and Susan

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged , , , , , , , on June 22, 2020| 4 Comments »

Skipper butterflies are common and Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) are common too, but what a lovely combination they made when I spotted them together on Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

skipper and susan

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Goldfinch and Black-eyed Susans

Posted in Birds, Flowers, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on August 20, 2019| 6 Comments »

As I was searching for butterflies last week at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, a flash of brilliant yellow suddenly crossed my field of view. It took a moment for me to figure out what it was and then I realized that several American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) were diving into a field of Black-eyed Susan wildflowers (Rudbeckia hirta).

I waited for a long time, hoping in vain that the goldfinches would perch in the open on the flowers nearest me, but mostly they stayed buried deep in the vegetation. Here are a couple of long-distance shots that give you a sense of my experience with these colorful little birds.

 

American Goldfinch

American Goldfinch

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Pearl Crescent and Black-eyed Susan

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 15, 2019| 8 Comments »

Last Saturday I spotted this Pearl Crescent butterfly (Phyciodes tharos) on what looks to be a Black-eyed Susan flower (Rudbeckia hirta) at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. Initially the butterfly’s wings were open, which made for an ok shot. When the butterfly partially closed its wings, however, the light coming from the back helped to illuminate one wing like a stained glass window.

It is amazing how a slight change in the position of a subject can radically change the feel of an image—that is one of the reason why I like to shoot in short bursts, hoping to capture a variety of poses in a short period of time.

Pearl Crescent

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Not a bee

Posted in Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 15, 2017| 5 Comments »

Several years ago, when I first started getting serious about photography, I probably would have called the insect in the photo a bee. My choices back then were simple—a black and yellow insect was either a bee or a yellowjacket. Now that I know a whole lot more about insects, I can readily identify the insect as a hoverfly (also referred to as flower fly) from the Syrphidae family.

When I spotted the hoverfly yesterday, I was struck by the way that its colors matched almost perfect those of the black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) that were growing in abundance at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge.

hover fly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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