View allAll Photos Tagged GardenInsects
No idea what this glowing blue blob is, but the bug was all over it with its feet. After about 5 minutes (which is a really, really long time in bug years) it flew off. I was totally mesmerized by the whole experience! (can be zoomed)
Post in ON1.
I have seen one (and only one) of these Katydids in our yard each year for the past five years, but I heard it every night. This summertime visitor happily munched leaves in the large locust tree in our backyard. The tree was removed this year, and I imagine the source of most of the insects in our yard will be gone as well. (Honey Locust trees attract a profusion of aphids, leafhoppers, lacewings, katydids--well any type of sucking or chewing insect that eats plants).
Broad-winged Katydid (Microcentrum rhombifolium).
Praying Mantis setting its trap for an unsuspecting prey.
Common, but not so abundant.
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I've always been fascinated by these metallic, shiny bees with their colorful thorax and head. Apparently there is blue-colored variety also, but I don't think I've ever seen them around here. I found this one on a Sedum floret and I am thrilled with how the colors turned out here.
Quite a bit smaller than a honeybee, these green bees are normally buzzing about freneticlly and I have a hard time getting a clean and clear capture of them. Fortunately when I took this picture yesterday it was fairly cool, about 58 degrees F., which slows down the metabolism of the insects, making it much easier to photography.
I think it was resting or actually sleeping, since it was hardly moving. Talk about the perfect insect model. As a macro photographer this was a dream scenario, and I fired off WAY more images than I really needed :)
They're called sweat bees since they like to land on human skin to feed on the salt from our perspiration. They do have stingers, but they rarely sting humans and only do so when pressed against the skin. Also, they have one of the weakest stings in the bee kingdom, probably due to a weak formula in their natural poison.
Enjoy the image, and have a great week everyone!
Saw these guys hanging together on a flower and thought wouldn't it be nice if us humans could share & get along as well as them.
So this is Layla the ladybug, Arnie the ant, and Hugo the hoverfly. They had plonked themselves on this daisy for their neighbourhood gossip session. I did happen to overhear some of the conversation. Apparently, Rodney the praying mantis is still rude, Betty the butterfly still acts like she needs a crown, and Sally the spider had once again “redecorated” the rosemary bush like she owned the place. Gordon the grasshopper had been practising his singing at 5am in the morning again. But the juiciest gossip was that Martha the millipede had started a walking club & was bragging about her step count.
After all this, the conversation drifted to personal issues.
Layla: “I am not cute. I’m sick of humans squealing over me. I’m a predator. I eat aphids for breakfast for goodness sake”
Arnie: “Yeah? Well I can lift crumbs bigger than my body.”
Layla: “Thank you, Arnie. That was really helpful”
Hugo: “Honestly, I get it. Everyone thinks I’m a bee. A bee! I’m harmless! I think I need a rebrand.”
Layla: “Polka dots. Instant charm”
Arnie: “No, no — a uniform. With rank insignia. Maybe a cape.”
Hugo: “A cape? How would I hover in a cape Arnie?”
Arnie: “Did I mention my mandibles are all natural? No supplements”
Layla: “Hugo… I think Arnie’s gone full gym‑bro on us again”
Arnie: “My max carry is 50× bodyweight, but I’m pushing for 60× by spring. Gains season.”
Hugo: “Yep. Confirmed. He’s unwell.”
Layla: “How do you know if an ant lifts weights? Don’t worry — they’ll tell you. haha”
Hugo: “Ha! Weightlifting changed my life. I dropped 2 kg. Right on my big toe.”
Layla: “haha, I cancelled my gym membership. Gave a too‑weak notice.”
Arnie: “Hilarious you guys. Anyway, I’m off. Catch you on the rose bush. First one there gets the aphids!
Thanks for the visit & any comments, always appreciated. Watch out for predatory ladybugs!
Ants and aphids live in a kind of partnership: the ants feed on the aphids’ sugar-rich honeydew and, in return, often protect them from natural predators. This relationship can frequently be observed on roses.
I was photographing this sunflower in my garden when a bumble bee landed on the central disk. Its position on the left side of the flower shows the detail of the pollen and the structure of the seed pattern clearly. It was walking around the centre of the flower in a steady circular motion that reminded me of a second hand moving around a clock.
I photographed this hummingbird hawk moth as it hovered in front of the buddleia flowers with its wings moving fast enough to blur. Its position in the frame shows the detail of the proboscis and the structure of the petals clearly. I have been photographing these moths for the last two months because I had never seen them before, and the unusually hot summer this year has made them more prominent.
A juvenile angle-wing katydid (Microcentrum sp.) hanging out in my garden on a kangaroo paw plant (Anigozanthos)
An earwig with her just-hatching babies in my garden today. Earwigs are attentive parents. An interesting study showed that babies raised without a mother's care still grew up healthy, but lacking in parental skills of their own - something previously only seen in vertebrates.
Here's a truly strange find - this is an adult male Bordered Mantis (Stagmomantis limbata) we found last night that had flown to our porch light. There should be no adults here now - not until August, at least, in fact. Did he hatch too soon, last December or January? I have never seen an adult this time of year, and I keep a close eye on my garden critters. Fascinating. Still, while he will most certainly not live long enough to mate, at least he'll get to keep his head.
Portrait of one of the many green fig/fruit beetles (Cotinis mutabilis) flying around my yard right now. They often have scratches all over their upper thorax, like a beat-up old car -- these beetles are not exactly graceful when coming in for a landing. Crashing into trees, walls, and even people is not an uncommon occurrence. (5-image handheld field stack of a very live insect)
A first-instar (newly hatched) katydid nymph, at most half the size of a grain of rice. Spotted in my garden this afternoon.
Green-veined White nectaring on damp Verbena bonariensis. A bit of light after heavy rain brought out the butterflies. All white ones at the moment.
The Common Banded Hoverfly (Syrphus ribesii) is one of the most widespread hoverflies in the UK and Europe. It is often seen visiting flowers in gardens, parks, and meadows, where it feeds on nectar and pollen. With its bright yellow and black banding, it closely mimics a wasp, providing protection from predators. Despite the resemblance, it is harmless and an important pollinator. Females can be distinguished from similar hoverflies by their entirely yellow hind femora.
Bush katydids are common in our yard, but the early-instar juveniles are a favorite photo subject of mine, with their interesting colors, bristly bodies, and unicorn horns. (Scudderia sp.)
A female bordered mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, photgraphed in situ in my garden. She's very healthy - plenty of honeybees to eat in the flowering shrub where she lives - and she looks to be ready to lay her egg case.
Mating Flies ~ Catford ~ London ~ England ~ Monday May 4th ~ Star Wars Day ~ 2015.
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I noticed this clutch of tiny stink bug eggs on a Manzanita leaf in my garden, and the lacewing larva hanging out next to them. It stayed with them for more than a day, I assumed filling up on an easy meal. But apparently it was unable or unwilling to eat the eggs - see the next photos in my photostream.
Diese ist ja wirklich sehr klein. Es scheint ein junges Weibchen zu sein. Angst haben sie nicht...Fluchtdistanz ist nicht erforderlich.
Small rushes virgin
This is really very small. It appears to be a young female. She are not afraid. ... Escape distance is not necessary.
Close-up of butterfly collecting nectar on a delicate purple chicory flower in summer. Nikon Z fc - M42 Pentacon 50mm
This is a just-hatched baby mantis (Stagmomantis limbata), just minutes old. I had been watching two egg cases (called oothecae) in my garden, one in my front yard, one in back, all spring. Both of them were laid last fall, certainly by different females, since in this species the females don't fly. Even so, the two egg cases starting hatching within fifteen minutes of each other. Whether this is a coincidence, or perhaps because of some temperature/weather/day-length cue, I don't know. In any case, you can tell it's a just-hatched baby because an hour or so after hatching the orange on the body turns to tan or light green, and the dark eyes fade to match the body.
This rare and distinctively marked migrant Calliphorid, specialises in predating the eggs of Locusts. Usually of African origin, it has been widely recorded in many counties of the UK and also now my garden :-) Handheld shot.
I was photographing small Daffodils when I noticed this Ladybird with raindrops on one of the leaves.
Much as I hate drizzle it does make nice fine drops.
Here's a strange find - this is an adult male Bordered Mantis (Stagmomantis limbata) we found last night that had flown to our porch light. There should be no adults here now - not until August, at least, in fact. Did he hatch too soon, last December or January? I have never seen an adult this time of year, and I keep a close eye on my garden critters. Fascinating. Still, while he will most certainly not live long enough to mate, at least he'll get to keep his head. (Btw, the plant is a species of Clarkia, a CA native in my garden.)