A spectacular day bathing in color, texture, beauty, light, and life ...
by Betsy Seeton
This little guy was sooo tiny! The middle picture is my thumb and forefinger holding the plant. This critter was a 1/4 inch if that.
 The bees were extra gentle and calm today. Their presence was therapeutic. I loved the buzzing sound and their easy going demeanor. They were slower in flight and less frantically hunting for nectar. Some days are like this. They welcomed me holding a flower steady in the wind for them. So much beauty is such small things....   The beetle and the bee had no problem sharing the flowers ... I love that!  Honey bee after nectar - taken Sept 29, 2011  by Betsy Seeton         Lots of little critters were out today ... (click images to see more of nature's art)  L to R: Root Borer, Leatherwing, Plant Bug, and likely a Tarnished Plant Bug It wasn't until this year that I started exploring macro photography. It all began with one bee that I was photographing in February of 2011. I followed the bee around from branch to branch, thrilled to be seeing a bee in winter. She led me to her thriving bee hive in a nearby tree. Since that day, I began photographing bees and soon found all kinds of bugs to photograph. It's a fascinating, and quite secret little world out there all around us if we care to pay attention.  Plant Bug (could be a Tarnished Plant Bug) I've watched bugs interacting with each other. I've seen a mosquito on a flower with two different kinds of bees. The three of them were tolerating each other, but one bee was the alpha bee. The mosquito would put its leg on one of the bees every chance it got. It wouldn't leave her leg very long. It was more like reaching out and touching as if to test what was going to happen. The three of them circled the flower for several minutes together. The bees got into a scuffle once, but it ended peacefully. The mosquito stayed back, out of the way and just watched, while the bees rolled around like a couple of guys in a small bar fight. It's amazing to witness the life that these critters live. I've seen dragonflies eating damselflies and damselflies eating other bugs. I've watched spiders and ambush bugs catching bees, and wasps eating some sort of winged insect.  Tarnished Plant Bug  Honey Bee   Jagged Ambush Bug sucking the innards out of a honey bee - September 13, 2011 After an ambush bug catches its prey, " it sucks body fluids by means of its rostellum, or beak. Other types of bugs use this organ for sucking plant juices, but not the ambush bug. These stealthy critters sit very still on or near flowers, their superb camouflage allowing them to remain undetected while an unwitting butterfly or other unfortunate happens by to gather nectar. They then seize their prey using front legs adapted for the task - these legs resemble the front legs of the praying mantis. It is a ferocious bug indeed that takes prey 10 times its own size." Source: http://www.cirrusimage.com/bugs_ambush.htm  Jagged Ambush Bugs mating  Another Jagged Ambush Bug   by Betsy Seeton   Leatherwing, Plant Bug   by Betsy Seeton I spent some time with this jumping spider today. I watched him catch a green bug (partially pictured below) and then I just experimented with his temperament to get him to interact with me. At first he was jumping from rock to rock and was interested in getting away from me until he found the green snack and the only 'away' he was doing was munching. Sometimes he would look directly at me. It's so interesting to have eye contact with such a tiny creature. He was less than a half inch. After that, I got him to crawl on a stick and a small leafy branch, but he didn't readily climb on. I had to 'encourage' him. Some bugs will grab hold of whatever I give them. This little guy was more independent. Sometimes he would drop from the branch on his silk thread and I would wind the thread up to keep him from dropping to the ground, but he was quick. He managed to drop down from his thread quicker than I could reel it back up sometimes. Once he crawled back up his thread! He was getting used to me, and was less fearful as time went on. In person, he's very tiny and not intimidating. I can't make out much of the detail you get to see in these images. (That's part of what makes macro photography so fascinating.) When he jumped, he jumped quicker than I could actually see. It was like he was being teleported! He was on a rock one second and in less than a blink of an eye he was somewhere else. Interestingly, after he got more familiar with me, he stopped jumping and allowed me to fool with him, for lack of a better way of describing it.  Sept 27, 2011  Sept 27, 2011  A little better look at the green snack  Sept 27, 2011  Sept 27, 2011  Sept 27, 2011  Sept 17, 2011 - Eating a daddy long leg (click for an earlier post with more photos)  The autumn colors are at their peak in the high country. The drive from the mountains to the city today couldn't have been more beautiful.  I took these photos today while hiking. It was one of those perfect fall days with that crisp air, plenty of sun, but not too warm or too cool, and not too windy. The autumn colors are near their peak at 11,000 feet elevation. I grew up around this area and raised my children here. The mountains get in a person's blood. There's not any place I'm more comfortable being than when I'm in nature.   This image makes me smile. I don't know what it is, but something about this bee just warms my heart. It was barely 50 degrees when I headed out this morning to commune with my fuzzy little striped friends at my favorite park. Not many bees were out that early, but there are always a few dedicated ones filling up on sweet flower juice. It won't be long before all the flowers are gone and temperatures take a dive.   Sept 19, 2011   Dragonflies - Sept. 19, 2011  Dragonflies mating  I think this is a bee (below), but I'm not sure yet. I've just been seeing this breed in the last couple of days. She's so beautiful and gentle. She flies with such grace.  Sept 19, 2011  Sept 19, 2011  Sept 19, 2011 I saw the bee fly into the flower but it's a flower that shuts tight! I kept waiting for the bee to come out and when I got impatient, I opened the flower up to see if the bee found a different exit. The bee was in there! It was pretty cute seeing her expression when I opened the flower. It was like, "Who are you?" I closed it back up and waited a little longer. I checked again, and she was still filling up on nectar.   A ladybug just ready for lift off. Sept 19, 2011     Insects called Silverfish. I caught them going through their mating ritual before this 'embrace'. By Betsy Seeton  Yellow Jacket stuffing a bug in his mouth - by Betsy Seeton    by Betsy Seeton This spider is about 1/3 of an inch.    The spider walked over a pine needle I know them as granddaddy long-legs. I always thought they were spiders, but they're not. They have only two eyes, whereas nearly all spiders have eight eyes. Spiders have two main body parts. Their head and thorax are fused together and then they have an abdomen. The granddaddy long-leg has one main body, similar to a tick. Unlike spiders, granddaddy long-legs can't make webs because they don't have silk glands or spinnerets. Their diet is much different than a spider's. They prefer animal and plants that are decomposing. Spiders attack live prey for their main course using venom to paralyze and kill.  Taken September 17, 2011 "Jumping spiders are active hunters, which means that they do not rely on a web to catch their prey. Instead, these spiders stalk their prey. They use their superior eyesight to distinguish and track their intended meals, often for several inches. Then they pounce, giving the insect little to no time to react before succumbing to the spider's venom.[6] They are capable of learning, recognizing, and remembering colors."[7] [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]     |
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