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| Eastern Forktail |
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| White-faced Meadowhawk |
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| American Rubyspot |
Friday, August 19, 2016
The Adventure Continues
Some highlights of my ongoing hunt for odonates:
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Dragonflies Are Jerks.
Why did I think it was a good idea to set my sights on bugs, again?
I've gone on a couple of outings now with the intention of finding some dragonflies. And I did indeed find some - zooming over fields at least 10 feet up, not even slowing down much less stopping so I could take a closer look. A couple of them were some kind of saddlebags, I saw that much from the big dark blotches on the hindwings. The rest, I honestly have no idea. Apparently up until now I've been playing on easy mode, where all of the dragonflies perch neatly and let you take their picture. I'm not sure who switched me up to advanced, but if you could please put me back down that would be great.
On a slightly different topic, some of you may have heard me tell the tale of the Big Sneaky Freaking Spiders. For those who haven't: one day I was out conducting my field work. Trudging along, taking notes, as one does. I stopped near a stream. I glanced up after several minutes of busy writing, to find myself staring at a Big Freaking Spider. Then I looked slightly to the left, and saw another one. A bit further, two more. More to my right. Big, zig-zagging webs everywhere I looked. They were all around me. Oh god. How many had I walked through to get where I was standing. How many might be crawling on my back or my legs right that very second.
It was, shall we say, a rather unnerving experience.
Today I got to relive that experience.
I'd like to point out, since the photo is not entirely clear on the matter, that this thing is about an inch long without even taking the legs into account.
Ah, nature.
I've gone on a couple of outings now with the intention of finding some dragonflies. And I did indeed find some - zooming over fields at least 10 feet up, not even slowing down much less stopping so I could take a closer look. A couple of them were some kind of saddlebags, I saw that much from the big dark blotches on the hindwings. The rest, I honestly have no idea. Apparently up until now I've been playing on easy mode, where all of the dragonflies perch neatly and let you take their picture. I'm not sure who switched me up to advanced, but if you could please put me back down that would be great.
On a slightly different topic, some of you may have heard me tell the tale of the Big Sneaky Freaking Spiders. For those who haven't: one day I was out conducting my field work. Trudging along, taking notes, as one does. I stopped near a stream. I glanced up after several minutes of busy writing, to find myself staring at a Big Freaking Spider. Then I looked slightly to the left, and saw another one. A bit further, two more. More to my right. Big, zig-zagging webs everywhere I looked. They were all around me. Oh god. How many had I walked through to get where I was standing. How many might be crawling on my back or my legs right that very second.
It was, shall we say, a rather unnerving experience.
Today I got to relive that experience.
I'd like to point out, since the photo is not entirely clear on the matter, that this thing is about an inch long without even taking the legs into account.
Ah, nature.
Friday, August 5, 2016
Bzzzz Bzzzz.
Expanding upon my adventures with dragonflies, I'm coming to realize that some bugs are pretty cool. I will never be a fan of spiders or crawly house pests, but look at this robber fly, for instance:
I thought it was a grasshopper at first glance, mostly because all of the other things flying around on the path were grasshoppers and this was about the same size, but it didn't flash the yellow and black grasshopper wings when it flew so that caught my attention. I love the spiky legs.
On a different site, I found this Primrose Moth:
Very aptly named, since it's sitting on a primrose flower. When I was looking up the ID, the very first webpage I visited started out by saying that these moths are most often found with their heads completely buried in the center of a flower, so I guess that pose is a characteristic behaviour. Nice when things behave exactly as they're supposed to!
I thought it was a grasshopper at first glance, mostly because all of the other things flying around on the path were grasshoppers and this was about the same size, but it didn't flash the yellow and black grasshopper wings when it flew so that caught my attention. I love the spiky legs.
On a different site, I found this Primrose Moth:
Very aptly named, since it's sitting on a primrose flower. When I was looking up the ID, the very first webpage I visited started out by saying that these moths are most often found with their heads completely buried in the center of a flower, so I guess that pose is a characteristic behaviour. Nice when things behave exactly as they're supposed to!
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