I continue with pictures taken over the summer. It is still July according to what is on the camera roll.
The first picture shows a debris-carrying lacewing larva. Lacewing larvae are predators of small arthropods, and the best known of these are ‘aphid lions’, since these are stalkers of aphid colonies. But other species are more of a free-lance sort. This one was wandering down a tree trunk in a forest, and in this picture you can see the head with long scimitar-like jaws for piercing prey. The large pile of debris that it is carrying is for concealment and protection from its own enemies like ants. Not sure what the debris is, but perhaps it's the wooly stuff made by some plant galls. I do not know the ID, but according to BugGuide it is probably one of the many species of green lacewings. So family Chrysopidae. I had to use the Raynox 150 on my lens to boost magnification on this picture, and even so it is heavily cropped.
Debris-carrying lacewing larva by
Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
Next is a cellar spider with a meal. Cellar spiders will frequently return to old prey to eak out a meager living, and will even accept dead and dried prey. BugGuide explains that the most likely cellar spiders to be encountered in the U.S. are one of the three introduced species. This seems to be
Pholcus phalangoides. The white patch on the abdomen is the cover for one of her respiratory openings. Spiders breathe through a pair of ‘book lungs’, which are stacks of thin respiratory membranes in chambers in the abdomen Similar to fish gills.
Cellar spider by
Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
At the shore of a lake I came across a giant swallowtail butterfly (
Papilio cresphontes) that was ‘puddling’ on the wet sand to get nutrients like salt and amino acids. This was a nice surprise since these very large but common butterflies seem to always be flying non-stop. ALL of my other pictures of them are rather blurry as I have never quite figured out how to freeze motion with shutter speed and/or flash.
Giant swallowtail butterfly by
Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
Finally, a few feet away from the giant swallowtail was this perfect red-spotted purple butterfly (
Limenitis arthemis). The colors really pop with the camera flash! I am beginning to think that this species is one of the most beautiful of our butterflies.
Red-spotted purple butterfly by
Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
Bmac
Loc: Long Island, NY
Enjoyed them, thanks for sharing.
Mark Sturtevant wrote:
I continue with pictures taken over the summer. It is still July according to what is on the camera roll.
The first picture shows a debris-carrying lacewing larva. Lacewing larvae are predators of small arthropods, and the best known of these are ‘aphid lions’, since these are stalkers of aphid colonies. But other species are more of a free-lance sort. This one was wandering down a tree trunk in a forest, and in this picture you can see the head with long scimitar-like jaws for piercing prey. The large pile of debris that it is carrying is for concealment and protection from its own enemies like ants. Not sure what the debris is, but perhaps it's the wooly stuff made by some plant galls. I do not know the ID, but according to BugGuide it is probably one of the many species of green lacewings. So family Chrysopidae. I had to use the Raynox 150 on my lens to boost magnification on this picture, and even so it is heavily cropped.
Debris-carrying lacewing larva by
Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
Next is a cellar spider with a meal. Cellar spiders will frequently return to old prey to eak out a meager living, and will even accept dead and dried prey. BugGuide explains that the most likely cellar spiders to be encountered in the U.S. are one of the three introduced species. This seems to be
Pholcus phalangoides. The white patch on the abdomen is the cover for one of her respiratory openings. Spiders breathe through a pair of ‘book lungs’, which are stacks of thin respiratory membranes in chambers in the abdomen Similar to fish gills.
Cellar spider by
Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
At the shore of a lake I came across a giant swallowtail butterfly (
Papilio cresphontes) that was ‘puddling’ on the wet sand to get nutrients like salt and amino acids. This was a nice surprise since these very large but common butterflies seem to always be flying non-stop. ALL of my other pictures of them are rather blurry as I have never quite figured out how to freeze motion with shutter speed and/or flash.
Giant swallowtail butterfly by
Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
Finally, a few feet away from the giant swallowtail was this perfect red-spotted purple butterfly (
Limenitis arthemis). The colors really pop with the camera flash! I am beginning to think that this species is one of the most beautiful of our butterflies.
Red-spotted purple butterfly by
Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
I continue with pictures taken over the summer. It... (
show quote)
The lacewing Doo looks like a chubby blond's afro I saw at a Ramones concert.
Agree with beauty of the Purple. The Giant swallowtail. I have never seen one closer than 15-20 feet and going like hell. Nice shot.
Bill
A fantastic set as always Mark. great lighting and detail. Well done my friend.
-Doc
You never fail to produce interesting posts with good images, so well done again.
5-star images, great job and thanks for sharing.
NICE times four..............
Nicely done & I'd have to agree with you on #4 - it's a beauty!
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.