A water lily is a fine resting place for a tiny, busy damselfly.
insect
All posts tagged insect
Okay, so it’s a wasp, not a bee…
Little Blue Dragonlet male (Erythrodiplax minuscula)
During our visit to Schoepfle Garden I was able to continue my pursuit of dragonfly photographs. One beauty was (I believe) a Little Blue Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax minuscula) who alighted on a leaf not far from me on that very warm Sunday. I shot several photos in a series, hoping to draw closer and refine my focus. As I watched, he slowly raised his abdomen (tail) higher into the air, pointing towards the sky. I’d seen that behavior before though I don’t think I’ve ever photographed that pose. I thought the insect was advertising for a mate. Apparently it is understood that dragonflies take their “obelisking” posture in order to reduce their exposure to the sun in very hot weather. So it seems that, while a dragonfly may look sexy, it takes hot weather and not hot mates to inspire a Little Blue Dragonlet’s obelisking.
Red dragonfly in flight over sparkling water.
Saturday night was spent at the Observatory showing off Earth’s Moon, brilliant red giant star Antares, a faint star cluster, and the Ring Nebula to a nice group of folks. The sky was mostly clear but high humidity and moonlight make for less than optimal seeing. Still, our visitors were interested and enthusiastic. Views of the Moon were exquisite and exciting with craters along the terminator showing off inky black unlit floors and brilliantly sunlit walls. Mountains cast deep shadows across the lunar seas. The old telescope was in fine form. Two couples stayed late and we enjoyed the night’s best views of the Ring as I changed out eyepieces. As they were leaving we stepped out on the front lawn talking and looking at some constellations, parting company at 11:25 PM. That meant a very late night for me but the overall experience was so positive, I didn’t mind at all!
Today we got around slowly and, because the day promised to be uncomfortably hot and humid, we went to the zoo early enough to arrive a little before opening. We saw some wonderful exotic animals ranging from meerkats and elephants in the zoo’s new Elephant Crossing area to flamingos, lions, giraffes, and storks. We took loads of pictures but, as these things often happen, my favorite photos were of free-flying, native dragonflies that were buzzing around a small pond on the grounds.
It was an all-too-short weekend of cosmic smoke rings and flying dragons.
Dragonfly "Widow Skimmer" (Libellula luctuosa) female pauses on a twig.
We sought out and found a couple of natural places, away from the day’s noisy festivities. We had quiet strolls in woods, fields, and around ponds and wetlands. We saw the denizens of those places: herons, white-tail deer, frogs, fish, and dragonflies. It’s turning out to be another “dragonfly summer” for me and I like that. One of the best photos of the day was a beautiful black and golden female Widow Skimmer spotted in a small township nature preserve.
A dragonfly captured in flight is not an easy catch!
After dropping our cat off for a brief hospital stay, I stopped by Hinckley Lake for a hike and another effort at dragonfly photography. I was quite disappointed with my efforts on Sunday, coming way from that session with only a couple of acceptable pictures. So I walked the entire circumference of the lake stopping now and again to shoot images as opportunities arose. It wasn’t until I’d nearly completed the walk –about three-quarters of the way around– that I began to see a few dragonflies. I photographed one that perched for a while on a leaf of grass. Others stayed out of reach — too small and too far away for me to image properly. I noticed a large, dark variety liked to fly in figure-eight patterns in set territories and it occurred to me to try and capture dragonflies in flight. What the heck, it’s digital so I’m not wasting film! So I tried and tried and deleted a good number of blank or blurred frames in the field. What I got back, however, was astonishing to me and of better quality than I managed shooting still-life insects Sunday!
Dragonfly in flight over the waters of Hinckley Lake resembles an unusual aircraft over an ocean coastline.
A tiny Eastern Amberwing dragonfly rests on a bright green leaf.
Don’t worry, I’m not sure how to pronounce it either! I believe it’s “Show-fel” but hesitate to say the name out loud. What I can say is that it’s one of the gems of Northeastern Ohio parks. Located in Lorain County and part of the parks system there, Schoepfle features large formal gardens, paved and earthen walking trails, ponds and a river, along with woodlands to explore. On a whim we took off Sunday morning and paid a return visit to the place spending an unusual and welcome time quietly watching and photographing the grounds and, in my case in particular, the dragonflies that flit around the ponds. I saw and photographed several varieties. We saw many thin and tiny blue-headed damselflies in the act of mating! Dragonfly copulation is an interesting hook-up (literally) and you can read about it elsewhere. At any rate I’m sorry to report that many of my photos did not live up to my expectations — and I wasn’t seeking dragonfly porn but beauty shots of the various gossamer-winged creatures. She Who Must Be Obeyed often bemoans her humble all-in-one pocketable digital camera but yesterday managed to out-do my digital SLR and its top-of-the-line close-focus telephoto. It’s a great little camera she’s got so I wasn’t too surprised. I’ll just have to learn from my mistakes and try again… maybe today!
Dragonfly Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina)
We got around early today and set off for what we hoped would be a “day to ourselves” — a relaxing time away from work and worry for the two of us. The journey was a good one. We visited the Carlisle Reservation of Lorain Metroparks and had a fine (if warm) hike along a meadow trail. I also got my first look at the John Nielsen Observatory there; it’s a place built in cooperation with amateur astronomers to serve their needs and those of Parks’ star party guests and looks to be in an excellent location. I’m still gathering observatory design ideas for possible future developments. It was getting on towards lunch time when we left Carlisle so we headed to nearby Oberlin. We were surprised and pleased by stunning new business developments there including a fresh new building that features condominiums up and businesses down. Looking at the new development, right off the town square, made us feel as if we were in some trendy section of a much larger city. After good lunch at the newish Aladdin’s Eatery, we began a loop towards home with a planned stop at the Caley Reservation nature preserve of Lorain Metroparks. Almost exactly two years ago we visited Caley and were delighted by the presence of large numbers and a wide variety of dragonflies. This year we saw not so many of the little beasties but I noticed two that were unfamiliar: one had black wings with blue tips and the other was decorated in brown and red-brown colors. The former escaped un-photographed. The latter posed nicely and several times for a number of shots. The heat, humidity, and blood-loving insects were setting in so we stayed not long. A thunderstorm to the south added dark drama to the sky. It was a very good day away.
Looking like a dead leaf, a moth clings to a brick wall illuminated by an outdoor sconce.
Setting up for last night’s observatory Open Night, I noticed what appeared to be a dead leaf stuck to the wall under the sconce by the front door. Looking a bit closer I realized it wasn’t a leaf after all but a little moth in clever disguise! I took a few moments to photograph the little guy before returning to work. Now to identify it… anybody know what type of moth I’ve spotted here?
Open night went well, by the way, with 28 visitors over the course of two hours, which is about average. We were treated to excellent views of Jupiter, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the Perseus Double Cluster. I hate to say, Comet Bentley 2 eluded me… despite its proximity to the Double Cluster, I could not find it to save my life! Jupiter, however, was a crowd pleaser.
Moth poses for pictures under the light of an outdoor sconce.
We took the day off today to allow for travel time to a Recognition Dinner event this evening. We were busy as bees this morning with office work –sad, really, it was a beautiful morning– but relaxed a little more this afternoon. I decided to attempt some photos of a foliage plant, a “volunteer” of unknown species, that has been thriving at our back door. Those photos had mixed success. As I was about to pick up my tripod and head back indoors, I turned and noticed a couple of very large bees giving our bright yellow marigolds a going over. What the heck… I’ve got the camera with me, complete with macro lens, and bright light to work with; let’s shoot some bees!
A bee works to extract nectar and pollen from a marigold bloom.
I was pretty happy with the shots in general. The afternoon sunlight allowed for shutter speeds well over 1/1,000 second and that really helped when shooting handheld — bees and flowers move and focus shifts fast! Looking at the images on the computer screen I noticed details I hadn’t noticed before, especially in the bees’ wings. So I enlarged and cropped that area on one shot. I’m delighted. I could make that bee photo two feet wide and it would still look good.
Cropped image showing details in bee's wing.
I packed it in and said good afternoon to my buzzy little friends. Soon it will be time to get dressed and head out. I’m hoping for a nice evening. I’m also hoping my voice will hold out: I’ve had another bout of laryngitis and, though better today, my voice is still strained.
The End
Bee good!
PhotonStopper 