The insect under question was misidentified as a Milkweed Beetle when first posted. (See Steve Gingold’s comment)
I was happy to get this shot so late in September as we’ve had several frost advisories at night. The milkweed bug didn’t seem to mind though. I had also planned to take landscape shots that morning, so this wasn’t taken with my macro gear. The natural light provided this interesting effect.
This photo was taken in high summer, I haven’t seen any metallic bees in a while. The season is certainly winding down.
This male bee has an attractive striped abdomen while the female is completely green.
This milkweed plant was home to a lot of lady bugs engaged in various activities 😏
Rather interesting to see these damselflies mating on a plant stem near the exoskeleton shed by a recently emerged damselfly.
I haven’t seen many dragonflies this summer so I was pretty happy to get this shot of one.
Sometimes a small subject can present a big challenge. Ants are tiny and fast, so I often end up with a blurry image. This particular ant was in no hurry, the light was nicely filtered and this was the result.
I noticed a nice grouping of Queen Anne’s Lace that I wanted to photograph. When I got a little closer I noticed a Common Red Soldier Beetle walking along its surface. They are partial to open-structured flowers.
The vein in the leaf made the title of this post easy. I’m not a fan of yellow jacket wasps and usually head in the opposite direction when they’re flying close by. In this case it was a cool morning and the insect seemed lethargic, so I took these photos with little worry.
I’m happy to see a lot of bees this year. A bit of good news for us all.
Balancing on the edge of a leaf, that takes some talent. 😊
A milkweed beetle going about its business. 😏
I featured this same lady bug a few posts back. It seemed to be putting on a show just for us that day. This time it was a little fan dance before it flew off.
I had my focus on the cabbage white, it was only when I imported my files that I saw the damselfly. Always nice when something like this happens!
I’ve photographed a lot of lady bugs but I haven’t seen one move like this before 😊
As small as it is, this milkweed beetle stood out nicely on the plant it’s named after. Both milkweed and the beetle are toxic so it needn’t worry about being someone’s lunch. It has an impressive set of antennae; it’s a member of the longhorn beetle family.
I’ve seen bees this motionless early in the day when it’s cool. I took this photo mid morning so that wasn’t the cause. The bee looked to be in good condition, maybe it was just taking a break from collecting pollen.
Hover flies or flower flies are valuable insects. The larvae of some species prey on aphids and the adults are pollinators. Until I picked up a camera I wasn’t aware of these attractive little insects. Now I look out for them each summer.
If I had been asked what I thought of insects before I began in photography I would have probably shrugged my shoulders and wondered if they stung. Now quite a few years on, I have to admire these hardworking and determined little critters. Seeing the bee move along the leaf’s surface makes for an interesting glimpse into their world.
With the temperature struggling to get out of the single digits, I thought I’d retrieve a warm weather scene; perfect for a grey day in late March.
The metallic green sweat bee was working its way along the flower. As small as they are they’re easy to notice with that dazzling colour. It’s day one of spring and I impatiently wait for the first flowers and bees to emerge.
This beetle led me on quite a chase through the milkweed. Impressive antennae 😊
I’ve never seen a cabbage white this shade before. Perhaps its colour changes as the summer moves along.
The dragonfly reminded me of a little bauble hanging on to the green shoot. It rested there for a while before it flew off.
I had never seen a mature lady alongside its junior before. The larvae, or instar will moult several times before it is ready to transform to its adult stage. I saw these insects on some bushes on a busy downtown street. A lot going on on this little patch of real estate.
European Skipper Butterflies are seen in large numbers when the warm weather arrives. This skipper was resting and I was fortunate to see it in this pose.
A summer scene is the perfect antidote to the weather outside.
It’ll be a while before we see damselflies so what better time to enjoy a glimpse of summer than when it’s -15C outside!
I like hover flies, pretty cute for an insect; and always a challenge to photograph given their size.
I thought it unusual not to see an ant on the peony buds. But the fly was colourful so I took the photo. In processing, I noticed an ant; it’s upside down on the upper bud.
With freezing rain in the forecast what better time for a scene like this.
I took these photos earlier in the month. Hard to believe as the temperature today is struggling to reach double digits 😏.
On a walk last week, hoping to take some landscapes, I noticed this pretty bunch of daisies. As I moved closer I saw this wasp-like insect as well as a number of bees on the flowers. I didn’t have an ideal lens for insects but I took a couple of photos anyway. I imagine one of my last insect photos this year.
It didn’t look like there was too much goodness left in the flower but the bee had other ideas!
I took this photo earlier in the summer. Cabbage whites are some of the first butterflies we see in the spring and they’re still flying well into September. Given how cool the nights are getting you have to marvel at their tenacity.
The Japanese Beetle had a tenuous grip on the dahlia but managed to right itself. They are attractive beetles but are destructive and feed on a large variety of plants. No friend to gardeners!
The early bee gets the pollen. One of the first bees I saw this year on a wild rose.
I don’t know if monarch butterflies are appearing in significant numbers this year. As I haven’t been to our local nature reserve this summer my observations have been limited to what I see in the city. I saw this butterfly in a nearby garden and hope it was one of many.
I could have cropped in closer but I thought the flowers and the bee shared the stage.
It’s been a good summer for bees. This sweat bee or halictid bee was one of three different varieties I saw in the space of a few minutes. More to come…
Cabbage White on the fly.
BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY 