Another smattering of random images captured over the last month or so without a storyline or theme.
I was busy shooting a different subject (that may also turn into a more detailed study later) when in my peripheral vision I saw movement and looked closer to find the cicada killer shown above crawling about in one of the potted plants on the ground nearby. It has been a long time since I have seen one. Since this sighting, another male has marked out a territory in a section of the yard. His activities will become the subject of at least one post in the future.
Elsewhere…
On the left, in the background, a smaller male basilica orb weaver begins a very cautious prescribed approach on a female and mating begins. He will produce a sperm packet that he will insert into her reproductive slit with one of his leg-like pedipalps (happening in the right image) and, hopefully, escape with his life (he did).
Basilica orb weavers, like other arachnids as well as insects, crustaceans, and other creatures with exoskeletons, need to molt to grow. Here I am holding the molt of the female shown above. Donations for a proper manicure appreciated.
When I was editing an image of a bumblebee working swamp milkweed, I noticed down in one corner, almost off the edge, this tiny sweat bee. I was going to crop it out but something told me to enlarge the image. When I did I could see the tiny bee was blowing a nectar bubble in order to allow some of the moisture to evaporate to concentrate the nectar. It will re-ingest the bubble soon. This portion of the image is so tiny and blown up so much that we can see the start of pixilation in the bubble making it look more like a disco mirror ball than a bubble.
This bee was working hyssop. Notice the tattered wing edges and their reduced size from wear-and-tear which probably makes flying very difficult.
It seems every year I see a bee fly staking out its territory by the back door and using the handrail as its command post. There must be something hightly attractive to make this occur every year, making it seem like it is the same fly returning year-after-year. This one, this year, is remkarkably larger than those seen in the past. Based on its behavior, I’m guessing it is a male.
This is very strange. My neighbor has what appears to be some kind of wild grape growing up, completely untended and overgrown, against his fence. No fruit ever develops from this mess but this year I noticed a strange process. The bumps (not a normal occurrence) appear on the young leaves. The leaves continue to grow, as do the bumps. The leaf curls up tightly. After some research, I found out these bumps are a mite infection. It wasn’t until I began to look at the bumps through a macro lens that I noticed the fine detail not readily visible to the naked eye.
Central NJ lensman specialist in closeup nature: flowers, small animals, insects, arachnids, bees in-flight a specialty. Intro video https://vimeo.com/541710168
