I am still in Catch-UP Mode.
Back in the third week of June Predators and Pollinators were very busy.
This female Belted Kingfisher and it mate were warily hanging around the Aspen trees and utility wires near the water at “George’s Last Resort” for about two weeks. This lady had her hairdo ruffled as she perched facing downwind….
Many bees, flies, wasps and butterflies were busy nectaring off of this very interesting (when viewed up close) Viper’s Bugloss:
Bees, wasps and hoverflies visited these Yellow Goat’s Beard flowers….
This uncommon Harris Checkerspot nectared on milkweeds…
This is one of this year’s single brood of Canadian Tiger Swallowtails, showing lots of wear and tear. This year they seemed to appear and then disappear earlier than usual….
An Orange Belted Bumblebee joins in on the feasting …
The wide-apart eyes identifies this dragon fly as a clubtail. But which one??
Is this a Snowberry Clearwing Moth or is it a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth? Both are common around here. Especially this year.
First flight of Monarchs, which started arriving weeks earlier…
Hoverfly nectaring on Oxeye daisy…
A nice daylily at Moira’s driveway…
A double rose along Riverside Road…
A male Ebony Jewel Wing resting on a blade of grass ….
Daisy Fleabane has such a delicate flower…
Look at the long proboscis on that little Grass Skipper (which Grass Skipper??)….
Perhaps a Dot-tailed Whiteface???
A nice display of Cow Parsnip …. not to be confused with the invasive Giant Hog Weed (a very dangerous plant)….
I think that this is a European Skipper. They have an interesting history in Ontario and have been seen along the seeded rights of way of the 620 km long James Bay Road:
This flower, and its occupant, is a good one to stay away from….
Ants are tending to their collection of green aphids: An interesting example of primitive dairy-farming…..
Another one of the many Four-spotted Dragonflies seen near the end of June….
Ready to close those claws…. (click to enlarge to see those 6 eyes!)….
Shield beetle of some sort (?) …
Another ambush-type spider…
What is this beetle doing there??
A Skipper posing for a head and shoulders portrait ….
Common Chicory
is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant of the dandelion family Asteraceae, usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Many varieties are cultivated for salad leaves, chicons (blanched buds), or roots (var. sativum), which are baked, ground, and used as a coffee substitute and food additive. In the 21st century, inulin, an extract from chicory root, has been used in food manufacturing as a sweetener and source of dietary fiber.
Chicory is grown as a forage crop for livestock. It lives as a wild plant on roadsides in its native Europe, and is now common in North America, China, and Australia, where it has become widely naturalized. “Chicory” is also the common name in the United States for curly endive (Cichorium endivia); these two closely related species are often confused.
In any event, it is a beauty to see along the roadsides in July….
Yes, another Four Spotted Dragonfly in its typical vertical perch….
A cluster of Daisy Fleabane in the sunlight against the shadow of deep bush…
These two damselflies (Bluets(?)) demonstrate one of the mating positions of Odonates.
One of the million Diptera species enjoying a snack…
Keep in mind that the above photos were made on June 26 —- a very active time of the year for birdies and bugs.
The first photo (of the Kingfisher) was made at 11:45 AM and the last photo (of the fly) was made at 4:37 PM. I made over 685 photos during less than 5 hours. A better measure is 228 since I always shoot those kinds of subjects with a 3-exposure bracket. That works out to 228 compositions in 292 minutes or 1.28 minutes per composition — with driving the car and parking it in between shots. (All were taken out of the car window with the 100-400 mm (200-800 EFL) Leica lens on the GH4).
Of the 685 photos I processed 177 selecting 32 pictures for this blog. Processing (from raw files) and editing probably took 3 or 4 hours. Uploading, researching and writing this post probably took another 3 or 4 hours.
Now, on August 24, I am not making so many photos, concentrating instead on editing the earlier ones for the blog. Slow progress — especially when I realize that I had some equally busy days in July. I think that I’ll have to edit much more rigorously!
Rick has much better discipline in keeping his LEP(idoptera) LOG up to date. Check out his latest post: Mid-Atlantic Butterfly Field Forecast for the Week of 2018 August 25
In that post he links to This Gorgeous Map of Butterfly Evolution. I downloaded the 7.7 MB map and it IS gorgeous! Maybe it will help me in learning how to identify Skippers better!!! Maybe I can find something comparable before the Odonates next spring!
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