I’ve seen far fewer insects this year but I’ve been happy to see a lot of bees. I wonder if our cold spring might have had an effect on the others.
Tag Archives: Close-up photography
Cabbage White
By far, cabbage whites have been the most numerous butterflies this year. Despite their numbers, I still enjoy seeing them.
Friday Fly-by
I was actually trying to photograph a beetle on the goldenrod. When I looked at the photo at home, I realized I hadn’t seen the wasp at the time I took the shot. It was far sharper than my intended subject too.
Sunday Heat
We’re having an exceptionally hot summer. The insects must be feeling it too.
Beeware
While I was taking some pictures of Queen Anne’s Lace, a bee popped out of the flower. It didn’t appear happy to be photographed 😏
Cabbage White
I haven’t see many butterflies this year, so I was happy to get a close-up of this cabbage white.
Bee Break
There were quite a few bees flying around these flowers. This one paused for a refreshment break.
Morning Glory Bee
At a distance, I wasn’t sure of the insect inside the flower. As I got closer, the bee made its presence known.
Butterfly
I haven’t seen many butterflies his year. So I’m featuring one I saw last summer.
Tiny Bubbles
While photographing some wild flowers, I noticed this frothy substance on a nearby plant. It is produced by spittlebug nymphs and protects them from predators and temperature extremes. A mature spittlebug is also called a froghopper. It’s been a number of years since I’ve seen one. Actually, I’ve seen few insects so far this year. It’s been colder than usual, that might be the cause.
Bee First (Two Photographs)
I stopped to photograph these flowers and saw a bit of movement. Sure enough, it was my first sighting this year of a bee. Things are looking up 😊 .
Queen Anne’s Lace
A simple wildflower can really shine in the right light.
Cute as a Bug…
At least I think milkweed beetles are 😊.
Forest Floor
It looked like someone had called a meeting but few showed up 😏 . I think fungi and mushrooms make interesting subjects but they were pretty scarce last year. I’ll keep my eye peeled as things warm up around here.
Hummingbird Moth
Hummingbird Moths are spectacular looking insects and good pollinators. I don’t see them every summer so when I do spot one hovering by a flower it’s pretty exciting.
REWIND
It turned very cold overnight with the temperature now hovering at -17C. I thought this was the perfect time to revisit some summer scenes. Besides I can’t use my camera while wearing mitts 😏
Ready for Take Off
It’ll be several months before scenes like this will be common again. So in the meantime…
Buzz
On these cold cloudy days, I’ll be featuring some warmer scenes. I can almost hear the insects buzzing 😊
ON THE WEB
Spiders are often associated with Halloween. In myth, spiders were believed to be the companions of witches, and linked to death, poison and things that go bump in the night. I happened to see this non-venomous orb spider on a fine sunny day. It didn’t pose a threat to me unlike the unfortunate insects in its web.
SWALLOWTAIL
It’s been cool and grey out, so I thought a swallowtail on a coneflower would brighten the mood.
NOT ALL STING
The wasp found some goldenrod in bloom, most has faded by now. Despite their nasty sting, they are important pollinators and help keep the insect population down. Still though, I’m glad the goldenrod had its full attention.😏.
Japanese Beetle
The Japanese Beetle has no natural predators in North America so it’s very destructive to a large variety of plants. They are attractive though and I enjoyed watching this one lounge on some spotted jewelweed.
No Time to Waste
It’s nice to see the bees still gathering pollen in early September. Many flowers look like they’ve been picked over by now but it seems they still have a little more to give.
MATING DAMSELFLIES
Adult damselflies have a very short lifespan, measured in weeks. In their larval stage, development usually takes one to two years. It’s not a long courtship period 😏.
CLOUDED SULPHUR
This was my first sighting of a clouded sulphur this summer although they are among the most common and widespread of North American butterflies. At their brightest they’re as yellow as sulphur which is how they got their name.
SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY
I’ve seen several swallowtail butterflies this summer. This one was the first to stay still long enough for me to photograph.
BEE GYMNASTICS
You have to marvel at their technique 😊
HALLOWEEN PENNANT
It’s easy to see how this dragonfly got its name. It’s colours are festive and it has the habit of perching on tall grass where its wings catch the breeze like a flag or pennant would.
FINALLY, A MONARCH
Butterflies have been pretty scarce this summer, so I was very pleased to see a monarch. It flew between the clover and made itself visible for quite a while.
Silver-spotted Skipper
This is the second silver-spotted skipper I’ve seen recently. When I did get a clear shot, it was flying off but did display some of the silver that it’s known for.
COLD SHOULDER
I’ve seen fewer butterflies this summer, as other bloggers have mentioned. So I was happy to see this one even though it was turned away from the camera 😏 . I believe it’s a silver spotted skipper.
SOFT LANDING
I enjoy seeing a dragonfly on a lily pad. I associate both with summer by the lake.
Happy Canada Day to all those celebrating!
DRAGONFLY
I’ve only had a few opportunities to photograph dragonflies this year. They can be very flighty subjects but fortunately, not this one.
R0SE AND FRIEND
Among all the bees, I saw this one little wasp seeking some nectar. Like bees, wasps are also pollinators.
DAMSELFLIES (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
It’s always nice to see the first damselflies of spring.
I liked the leaves in this photo, the damselfly on the left was secondary.
Like Clockwork (Two Photographs)
Every year at this time, these wild rose bushes are covered in bees. We had taken a walk about two weeks ago to see how the flowers were developing but they were just beginning to bud. This past weekend we returned and were happy to see some bees gathering pollen.
DANDY BEE
There are some who don’t appreciate dandelions. I like them and so do bees.
LATE SEASON BUTTERFLY
I wish it was warm enough for butterflies. It’ll be a while yet but in the meantime here’s one from last year. It was still beautiful despite the wear and tear on its wings.
BEE’S BANQUET
The bee must have had pie on its face (Joe-Pie-Weed that is). I hope I identified the plant correctly. 😏
METALLIC BEE – TWO VIEWS
These jewel-like bees are very small yet stand out due to their brilliant colour. They are also called sweat bees as they are attracted to the salt in human perspiration. Not the nicest name for this attractive bee.
BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY 