Creatures

Dead Bumble Bee

Just over a month ago (June 24, 2016) I posted a picture of a dead wasp that I found on the floor of my office hallway. I liked the fact that I could get very close and use a long exposure (because it wasn’t alive and trying to get away from me) to get more depth of field than is usually possible with a live wasp. Today I was walking back from a meeting in another building and saw this dead bumble bee on the path. So, naturally (we’ve all done this, right?) I picked it up and brought it back to my office to get the ‘dead bee treatment.’ This exposure was 0.8 seconds at f/32.

Papilio glaucus (Eastern Tiger Swallowtail)

The buddleia is blooming and is attracting the fluttery insects in fairly substantial numbers. The most obvious, if not the most numerous, would have to be the eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). There is generally at least one and on occasion two or three on the little bush at any time. There are also lots of bees, of course and the carpenter and bumble bees seem particularly attracted. I saw a hummingbird the other day and we’ve seen the occasional sphinx moth from our kitchen window. A happy time of year for viewing insects.

Megachile sculpturalis (Sculptured Resin Bee)

I went out to photograph insects again this afternoon. It was hot out, but that’s when the bees, wasps, butterflies, and dragonflies are at their busy best. The first thing I saw was a four-toothed mason wasp (Monobia quadridens), a mostly black beast with very distinctive ivory markings. There was also a dragonfly out in the yard, which Brady identified for me as a female widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa). But my favorite bee for the day is this sculptured resin bee (Megachile sculpturalis), which I think is quite pretty, in a stinging-insect sort of way. It is native to east Asia and was first reported in North Carolina in June, 1994 but has subsequently spread over the entire eastern half of the continental United States.

Xylocopa virginica (Eastern Carpenter Bee, Female)

The bees and wasps are out in force and if it were not so hot, I’d be spending more time photographing them. I did go out a little early this evening and got a few pictures, including this one of a female eastern carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica). This was taken with available light, so it’s not as sharp as and has less depth of field than I’d like, but it’s not a bad picture. You can see the bee’s dorsal ocelli, the three simple (single lens) eyes in the center of her face, just above the two antennae. I happen to think that bees and many insects are among the most beautiful creatures in the world. Of course, the same can be said for fish, birds, mammals, and other classes, so maybe I just like animals. And plants.

Dead Wasp

I found this wasp on the hall floor of my office building and thought I’d take a closer look. It’s covered with dust but I photographed it pretty much as-is. I think perhaps it is a blue mud wasp (Chalybion californicum) which is a widespread species in North America. It is a beautiful, metallic blue color with hints of green, as well. Since the larvae feed on spiders, most people would consider it a beneficial insect, although spiders in their turn feed on other insects and are beneficial themselves.

Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

I’d say that there are a lot of rabbits in our neighborhood but that would be understating it by considerable. This is an eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), one of the most common rabbit species in North America. According to AnimalDiversity.org it “has the widest distribution of any Sylvilagus. It is found from southern Manitoba and Quebec to Central and northwestern South America. In the contiguous United States, the eastern cottontail ranges from the east to the Great Plains in the west.” I came out the front door this evening with my camera just as Cathy got home. There were three rabbits in our front yard. We went for a walk and saw more. When we got home, there were not only three in the front yard but a couple in the back.

Gomphus vastus (Cobra Clubtail)

We had a great day being out and about. It was nice to have Cathy’s brother, Jim here and we went to Rocklands Farm for a while. We enjoyed seeing the animals, including three-day-old piglets and lots of chickens. I got a great picture of Dorothy holding an iridescent, black chicken, probably a Black Australorp. We also relaxed a while in the barn and sampled a few wines and enjoyed some cheese. From the farm we went to Riley’s Lock on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, where Seneca Creek empties into the Potomac River. As we were heading back to the car we saw this dragonfly eating lunch. I don’t know what it is, for sure, but it is similar (at least to this untrained eye) to a cobra clubtail (Gomphus vastus).

Pantherophis alleghaniensis (Eastern Ratsnake)

From there we drove down to between Great Falls and Carderock and walked to the river near Hermit Island. This is along the Billy Goat Trail, Section B, but we didn’t actually go around the loop, just walking out to the river and back. On the way out we saw this eastern ratsnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) curled up beside a tree. I was able to get pretty close without spooking it and got what I think is a pretty nice portrait. After I got up the snake slithered into an opening in the tree and disappeared from sight. Not everyone’s favorite critter, I understand, but kind of elegant in its own way, I believe.

Poecilocapsus lineatus (Four-lined Plant Bug) Nymph

On Thursday, May 24, 2012 I posted a picture of a four-lined plant bug (Poecilocapsus lineatus). That was an adult of the species. This is the same thing (not the same one) but in its nymphal (i.e. immature) stage. The four-lined plant bug is a pest of both ornamental and crop plants, especially preferring members of the mint family. In our yard, they seem to be most attracted to the black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia sp.) but will feed on many other things, as well. They don’t do terrible harm but they disfigure the plants fairly severely and I will probably spray for them when the weather clears up a bit.

I’m pretty pleased with this picture, as these things are on the small side. This was taken with a 100mm macro lens focused as close as it would go and with an additional 25mm of extension added. It was lit by two small slave flashes that were sitting on the ground on either side of the camera and controlled by the on-camera flash, allowing the photograph to be taken at 1/160 of a second at f/16.

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

This morning I took some pictures of a gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) at the birdbath. This evening, when I got home from work, there was an American robin (Turdus migratorius) there and I took its picture, as well. In both cases, the picture is through our kitchen door, with its two panes of glass, so it isn’t nearly as sharp as I’d like. Still, it’s not a bad portrait of this fairly gregarious little fellow. The robins are our companions through the winter in these parts and we are happy to have them looking for worms, eating berries off the holly trees, and washing in the birdbath throughout the year.

Gnat Wings

I was working outdoors early this evening and happened to swat a gnat. Generally gnats are a minor pest, annoying but not really a serious problem. This evening when I swatted it, I thought, hey, I could look at this under the microscope. That might be interesting. Of course, this is a transmitted light microscope rather than a reflected or incident light microscope, so it’s really only useful for looking at transparent or partially transparent items (or silhouettes). So, I decided to look at the wings. This is one of the two pairs of wings from the gnat, somewhat damaged by being disconnected from the body. The antennae were also kind of interesting, but I decided to go with the wings here.

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Cathy called me this morning and said I should get my camera and come upstairs. The fox was back in our yard and was sitting in a spot of sunlight next to an azalea bush. By the time I got there, the fox had moved into the shade, into a hole where a tree used to be (when the tree roots rotted out, it left the hole and we’ve never bothered to fill it in. Shortly after I got there, the fox got up, walked through the sunlit spot again and back into the bushes at the back of the yard. I was able to get two quick shots through the somewhat dirty upstairs window before he was gone. So, it isn’t a great picture but it’s all I could get. Also, I think most folks who didn’t appreciate the deer tick picture yesterday will be more pleased with this one, even if it isn’t so sharp.

Ixodes scapularis (Deer Tick)

I know there are some of you who will not like this picture in the least. It is the head of the dreaded deer tick (Ixodes scapularis, the only known vector of Lyme disease. Cathy found this one in the back of her neck this morning and asked me to get it off. The tick came out cleanly but you can see here why they can be a little tough to get out. The proboscis (the tubular, sucking mouth) is not a smooth straw-like structure, but is quite well designed to stay in the skin when pulled upon. It had only been in her neck since yesterday, so there was no real chance of her getting Lyme from this one. Anyway, I put it under the microscope and took a look. Nasty.

Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

It was another beautiful day today, cool but quite nice out. So, Cathy and I went for a walk hoping to see one or both of the bald eagles nesting not too far from our house. We had a nice walk and were rewarded with a pretty nice view of them. First we saw one flying towards us and landing in a tree just ahead. I was able to get some pictures of that one through the branches of the intervening trees. Then it flew back to the nest. I watched for a while and then saw both eagles on the nest. Finally, the other eagle got up and left, flying fairly close, landing on a dead tree about 50 yards away from us. This picture of the eagle slowing for its landing is still a little less sharp than I’d like but I’m fairly pleased with it, nonetheless.

Scutigera coleoptrata (House Centipede)

This was in our powder room sink this morning and so naturally I took it’s picture. I posted a picture of one of these back on Wednesday, April 09, 2014 but I was able to get quite a bit closer this time. This is the head end and you can see the two black, compound eyes and the bases of the two antennae. As I mentioned last time, as much as most people would probably not be glad for these things around their house, they feed on cockroach nymphs, flies, moths, bedbugs, crickets, silverfish, earwigs, and small spiders. So, on balance, not bad house guests, really.

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

We went for a walk in the park around Lake Frank today. The ground is still quite wet and the trails are very muddy so we stuck to the paved sections, going from the abandoned parking lot to the dam and back. We saw quite a few birds, including Canada geese (Branta canadensis), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis), tufted titmice (Baeolophus bicolor), an eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) and a belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon). I got some very poor pictures of most of them and two pictures, slightly better than the rest, of this white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis).

Koi Angel (Pterophyllum scalare)

In mid-November I bought some fish for a 70 gallon take that we have in our breakfast room. I posted pictures of a Red Dwarf Gourami (Trichogaster lalius, Monday, November 23, 2015) and of a Green and Gold Cory Cat (Corydoras melanotaenia, Monday, November 30, 2015). Here is another fish that I got at the same time. This is a Koi Angel. There are three recognized species of freshwater angelfish. In the aquarium trade, Pterophyllum scalare is the most common and most of the varieties that are available are derived from that species. I think it’s pretty obvious where the common name for this variety comes from, having been bred to have the sort of markings usually associated with koi, ornamental varieties of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio).