More Fast Flying Things for Matt

At the risk of alienating myself again, I'm following the theme of catching fast things in flight. These hummingbirds are quite a bit easier than the dragonflies as they hover to eat, not just to assert territorial dominance. This particular bird was fairly shy. I'm not used to humming birds caring about my location. Like dragonflies, I assumed that they assumed I was too slow to be any real threat. I guess it pays to be careful though.

I think this is a broad-tailed humming bird.

Blue Darners in Flight

Here's a series of pictures from a local mosquito farm. These darners were patroling their territory and occassionally finding a mate. A number of times they came over and gave me the eye in case I might have gotten any ideas.

Widow

According to Bug Guide, this is a Female Widow Skimmer. New species for me, but I still haven't been getting the close-ups yet. I might need more walks that are light on the kid population load. :)

Sneaking up on Da Frog

At the end of our tadpole expedition, I saw this fellow. I got the boys quiet, pointed at the frog and took a few pictures. Then I showed them the funniest thing in the pond. Walk up to one and they give the funniest indignant squawk as they kick out into the pond. They laughed all the way to the car.

Spider Blade

A crab spider in our lawn... I wonder what plant it was trying to hide in prior to it landing in the lawn. We're currently pretty pink and red in our yard. Two weeks or so and it should be colored like it's plant of choice. Sunflowers will be coming out soon. They're always popular.

Bug Envy

Check this out.

This is completely not my picture, but oh, how I wish it was. It's a beetle molting. My husband Theo sent me the link to this. Perfect for a entomology buff and a VW-lover. (I mean in the tradition sense, not like this.)