Mid-Summer Flowers: Our flower gardens give me tremendous joy from spring to autumn. This slide show, set to music, features a few of my favorite flowers with emphasis on the pistils and stamen. Note: For the best viewing experience, try these tips: After clicking the start button, click on it again to pause. Wait until the slide show completely loads before starting to watch it. Move the cursor off the slide show so that the video controls will disappear. Also, if you have a slow connection, you must be very patient as this is a large file and will load slowly. Enjoy!
Jul
21st
Mon
Insect Mania: I have been going insect crazy with the camera! It is not just flowers that brighten the gardens, the insects are gorgeous as well. I usually go outside with the camera, and focus my attention on a group of plants for several minutes before taking any photos. Over time, different insects will grab my attention and I can watch their activities as they move from flower to flower. Then, comes patience…I follow the insects, trying to get closer and closer without scaring them off. Many interesting insect behaviors can become evident if you spend time observing. I snap oodles of photos and often choose only a few from hundreds that have been taken.
The following 8 photos were taken with a new 100mm macro lens we bought this week. I attached a 20mm extension tube to the camera for the 1st three shots you see below. You can really see some wonderful detail in these magnified shots. I am in love with this lens!
Mining Bee on Coreopsis: I really enjoyed watching this bee as it became covered with pollen. It has specialized appendages for moving the pollen to the combs on its legs.
Toxomerus Hover Fly on Astilbe: Characteristics that distinguish this 1 cm long fly from the American Hover Fly, is that the Toxomerus species has a yellow face, as well as an interesting little pattern on the abdomen. This fly’s larval form is extremely important in controlling aphid populations.
Green Bottle Fly on Astilbe: These flies really brighten the garden as they seem to sparkle when the sunlight reflects off their thorax and abdomen. In actuality, this fly is approximately 1.2 cm (1/2 inch) long.
Little Glassywing Skipper: I am continually amazed at the length of the proboscis that butterflies have. They can reach into the deepest flowers to extract nectar.
