Cute Toes

Kabuki mask grasshopper with the cutest widdle toes.

Farewell to the Beetle

Rowan tearfully let his beetle go. In an attempt to make him feel better, I let my wolf spider go at the same time (in a different part of the yard).

She is a very cool beetle and hopefully enjoyed her stay with us. She did seem to relish the giant mealworms as she bit them clean in half. It made Rowan feel a little better that she took her time in leaving and didn't make a quick goodbye of it. Very tactful of her.

We wish her the best of luck this season.

Lace Bug

Well, I've narrowed this tee-e-e-e-e-ensy bug to the order Hemiptera (true bugs) and family Tingidae (lace bugs), but that's as far as I've gotten. It's on a small sunflower plant/weed and you can see the soft but spiky-looking texture of the leaf for a subtle size comparison. My guess is that is was only a few millimeters long.

Cat's Head's Web

My neighbor Theresa asked me over to see the spider and web on her swing.

Standing Toe Biter

We went to the Butterfly Pavilion again today and brought our friends, Ryan and Michael. I forgot to check my battery charge before we left, so not many pictures. Grrr. I need to by a converter or a backup battery for all the times I've forgotten. At least I don't preview each image anymore, that really ate up my battery charge quickly.

She's Got the Whole Weevil in Her Hands

Found this little fellow on a sunflower.

Orange Odonate for Orange

Here's another tiny meadow hawk. The good folks at The Bug Guide identified it for me as Western Meadowhawk (Sympetrum occidentale).

This picture's for Orange who is always so kind and upbeat.

Checkers

Pontia protodice A checkered white, I think. I liked the diamond shapes along the edge of the fore and hind wing.

Lemme Have a Look at You

This dragonfly nearly turned its head upside-down to look at me.

Yet Another Tiger Beetle

Now that I know what to look for, I seem to see one each walk. They're still wicked fast.

Ol' Blue Eyes

It was very windy and dark with threatening rain. I didn't have much of a chance of shooting anything, but I caught a glimpse of an orange something flying away from my tromping feet. I followed it for a while, never getting as close as I would have liked, but got this close.

It wasn't till I got home that I saw the blue eyes. All I did was crop this and add a little contrast.

Wolf on a Rock

Ready to pounce on something just as the sun is setting.

Another Heart Bug

I know I've photographed a "heart bug" before, but I still like their little romantic markings.

Mama Spider

This was taken on the bridge across the South Platte River. The spider had set up her web underneath the guard rails. The spiderlings were nicely backlit.

Surely You're Joking

You can tell an insect a tall tale, but they are very skeptical creatures.

Another Tiger

This one was significantly faster than my first. His (?) wings worked just fine. My new lens setup required me to get pretty close and this isn't a bug that generally seems to like to be so friendly.

Check out the mandibles. I still can't get over those. I really wish I'd managed to get a frontal shot before it vanished. Rowan was wishing for a net.

More First Shots

Now it's pretty obvious how much I need my sensor cleaned.

Showy Bee

Muwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

I still can't stop the evil laugh.

New Equipment

This teeny tiny jumping spider is on a showy milkweed. For a size idea, measuring from the center of the pink flower in the upper right corner diagonally down to the dark pink petal below and to the right of the spider's abdomen is a little over a half an inch.

Here, I'm using my Canon Rebel XT, Sigma 105mm macro lens, Kenko 36mm extension tube, and Sigma Macro Ring Flash. Muahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Stealth LongJaw

I like how they hide.

Mama Spider

I'm still trying to get that good picture of a wolf spider carrying babies.

Pentatomidae

I dunno what kind of stink bug this is, but I really liked it's markings.

I've been submitting photos to Bug Guide and have received some help with identification. It's really an amazing site. It's almost a bugwiki, but more moderated.

I also just got a new book: Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity; With a photographic guide to insects of eastern North America by Stephen A Marshall. It's incredible. I've been addicted to picking it up and reading a few pages here and there or just looking through the photographs like a little kid with a picture book. Marshall trivia for the day: The stink bug family, Pentatomidae, is named after the five-segmented antennae.

I'm expecting my new flash and extension rings today. I hate waiting.

Blue

I don't generally get to photograph the "blue" part of the little blue butterflies I like so much. I suppose they are technically brown. Our own humble little Morpho-like butterflies.

Small Golden Dragonfly

I've still got to look this one up, but it was the first yellow dragonfly I'd seen. Maybe I'd call it orange or golden color. It was significantly smaller than most of my regulars.

Defoliators

These tiny metallic beetles seem to strip weeds to nothing. They come in various shades ranging from green to violet and hang out together.

I'm eagerly awaiting my birthday present. I ordered it on the third and expect it on Monday: ring flash and extension tubes. Muwahahahahahaha! Bugs, your private life is over.

I've also just put together my Butterfly Pavillion Photo Contest Entries. I don't know why this always embarrasses me. I didn't make the deadline for the Eldorado contest this year. The deadline comes up way sooner than I expect.