Some flowers, bugs, and a bird from Chicago
Jul 15, 2018 13:09:06 #
The English word lavender is generally thought to be derived from Old French lavandre, ultimately from the Latin lavare (to wash), referring to the use of infusions of the plants. Cultivated forms are planted in gardens worldwide.
Lavender and bee by Paul Sager, on Flickr
The Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) is a common species of beetle. The beetles damage plants by skeletonizing the foliage, that is, consuming only the leaf material between the veins, and may also feed on fruit on the plants if present.
Japanese beetle
Fossils of very large dragonfly ancestors are found from 325 million years ago in Upper Carboniferous rocks; these had wingspans up to about 30-inches (750 mm). About 3000 species of Anisoptera are in the world today. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Anisoptera comes from Greek anisos, "unequal" and pteron, "wing", because the hindwing is broader than the forewing.
Chicago area Dragonflies
The milkweed beetle, a herbivore, is given this name because they are generally host specific to milkweed plants. The beetle seems to derive a measure of protection from predators by incorporating toxins from the plant into their bodies, thereby becoming distasteful, similar to the monarch butterfly.
Red milkweed beetle
Dragonflies are predators, both in their aquatic larval stage, when they are known as nymphs or naiads, and as adults. Several years of their lives are spent as nymphs living in fresh water; the adults may be on the wing for just a few days or weeks.
Chicago area Dragonflies
While not very destructive in Japan, where it is controlled by natural predators, the beetle in North America is a noted pest of about 200 species of plants including rose bushes, grapes, hops, canna, crape myrtles, birch trees, linden trees, and others.
Japanese beetle
The Eastern wood pewee is a small tyrant flycatcher from North America. They feed on insects and other arthropods. They migrate between the US and southern Canada and Central America and the Andes region of northern South America. Their breeding habitat is deciduous, mixed woods, or pine plantations in eastern North America.
Eastern Wood-Pewee
As the name suggests, the Japanese beetle is native to Japan. The first written evidence of the insect appearing within the United States was in 1916 in a nursery near Riverton, New Jersey. The beetle larvae are thought to have entered the United States in a shipment of iris bulbs prior to 1912, when inspections of commodities entering the country began.
Japanese beetle
Hollyhocks are annual, biennial, or perennial plants usually taking an erect, unbranched form. Hollyhocks are popular garden ornamental plants. They are easily grown from seed. The flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
Hollyhocks
The images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.
Lavender and bee by Paul Sager, on Flickr
The Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) is a common species of beetle. The beetles damage plants by skeletonizing the foliage, that is, consuming only the leaf material between the veins, and may also feed on fruit on the plants if present.
Japanese beetle
Fossils of very large dragonfly ancestors are found from 325 million years ago in Upper Carboniferous rocks; these had wingspans up to about 30-inches (750 mm). About 3000 species of Anisoptera are in the world today. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Anisoptera comes from Greek anisos, "unequal" and pteron, "wing", because the hindwing is broader than the forewing.
Chicago area Dragonflies
The milkweed beetle, a herbivore, is given this name because they are generally host specific to milkweed plants. The beetle seems to derive a measure of protection from predators by incorporating toxins from the plant into their bodies, thereby becoming distasteful, similar to the monarch butterfly.
Red milkweed beetle
Dragonflies are predators, both in their aquatic larval stage, when they are known as nymphs or naiads, and as adults. Several years of their lives are spent as nymphs living in fresh water; the adults may be on the wing for just a few days or weeks.
Chicago area Dragonflies
While not very destructive in Japan, where it is controlled by natural predators, the beetle in North America is a noted pest of about 200 species of plants including rose bushes, grapes, hops, canna, crape myrtles, birch trees, linden trees, and others.
Japanese beetle
The Eastern wood pewee is a small tyrant flycatcher from North America. They feed on insects and other arthropods. They migrate between the US and southern Canada and Central America and the Andes region of northern South America. Their breeding habitat is deciduous, mixed woods, or pine plantations in eastern North America.
Eastern Wood-Pewee
As the name suggests, the Japanese beetle is native to Japan. The first written evidence of the insect appearing within the United States was in 1916 in a nursery near Riverton, New Jersey. The beetle larvae are thought to have entered the United States in a shipment of iris bulbs prior to 1912, when inspections of commodities entering the country began.
Japanese beetle
Hollyhocks are annual, biennial, or perennial plants usually taking an erect, unbranched form. Hollyhocks are popular garden ornamental plants. They are easily grown from seed. The flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
Hollyhocks
The images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.
Jul 15, 2018 13:16:47 #
Jul 15, 2018 13:22:17 #
Your images are beyond great. Could you give us the specifics: camera, lens, lighting, settings, and everything else that created your spberb images. Regards, Davidb1879
Jul 15, 2018 13:29:13 #
Normally I hate bugs...but these I can deal with. Great information and photos Paul. Top rate job.
Jul 15, 2018 13:30:11 #
Jul 15, 2018 13:31:26 #
Jul 15, 2018 14:32:24 #
Jul 15, 2018 14:51:13 #
Jul 15, 2018 14:54:50 #
You can make even the lowly, despised Japanese beetle look wonderful. Amazing photos!
Jul 15, 2018 16:16:50 #
UTMike wrote:
The Canon man scores again with an outstanding series, Paul!
Thank you Mike! I went looking for bees, but the section of wildflowers I had walked to was not yet in full bloom when the newer images in this group were captured. So, I went with what I could find. Glad you enjoyed.
Jul 15, 2018 16:17:31 #
davidb1879 wrote:
Your images are beyond great. Could you give us the specifics: camera, lens, lighting, settings, and everything else that created your spberb images. Regards, Davidb1879
Thank you David! A few diffent lenses and cameras were involved over multiple dates. The specifics of each image are available from Flickr by clicking the URL title of each image. Glad you enjoyed.
Jul 15, 2018 16:18:42 #
James56 wrote:
Normally I hate bugs...but these I can deal with. Great information and photos Paul. Top rate job.
Thank you James! I went out a few weeks ago to a location in a nearby park where I've found bees and wildflowers in the past. But, the blooms are still a few weeks away so I photographed what I could find that turned out to be mostly Japanese beetles. I then mixed in some older images I was editing yesterday. Glad you enjoyed.
Jul 15, 2018 16:19:39 #
photophile wrote:
Great close up, love the dragonflies.
Thank you Karin! There's a 'Dragonfly Marsh' at the Brookfield Zoo where dragonflies actually hang out relatively near the boardwalk into the marsh. Glad you enjoyed.
Jul 15, 2018 16:20:34 #
Katydid wrote:
You can make even the lowly, despised Japanese beetle look wonderful. Amazing photos!
Thank you Katy! I didn't even know Japanese beetles were a pest until spending some time reading about what I'd found. Glad you enjoyed.
Jul 15, 2018 16:21:13 #
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