Well, what else can I do when it's snow packed outside? Took a few grains of Sea Salt and placed them on a piece of blue paper that I tore out of a magazine for a background.

To my surprise I was able to see the color dot matrix of what appeared to be solid blue of the paper. This image was taken with at about 8X magnification using a microscope objective and bellows extension.

Thanks in advance to those who view and your comments, suggestions and critique are always highly appreciated.

Still a European Wasp to me Bill...identical markings...the lighter colour is probably due to the exposure I had set...

"European wasp" redirects here. For a similar species known as "European wasp", see Vespula vulgaris.




European wasp

European wasp white bg.jpg

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Suborder: Apocrita
Family: Vespidae
Genus: Vespula
Species: V. germanica

Binomial name

Vespula germanica

(Fabricius, 1793)

German Wasp distribution map.png
Distribution map of European wasp
blue : native, red : introduced

Vespula germanica (European wasp, German wasp, or German yellowjacket) is a species of wasp found in much of the Northern Hemisphere, native to Europe, Northern Africa, and temperate Asia. It has been introduced and is well-established in many other places, including North America, South America (Argentina and Chile), Australia, and New Zealand. German wasps are part of the family Vespidae and are sometimes mistakenly referred to as paper wasps because they build grey paper nests, although strictly speaking, paper wasps are part of the subfamily Polistinae. In North America, they are also known as yellowjackets.

Found this Eurpean Wasp in our garden this morning...there was something in the soil that fascinated them and also attracted a group of flies...shot them with my Sigma 150mm macro lens...the flies must have been equidistant from the lens as mostly they are in focus...

German wasp
Insect
Description
Vespula germanica is a species of wasp found in much of the Northern Hemisphere, native to Europe, Northern Africa, and temperate Asia. It has been introduced and is well-established in many other places, including North America, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Vespula germanica
Order: Hymenoptera
Class: Insecta
Rank: Species
Family: Vespidae
Did you know: The European wasp was introduced into Australia, apparently during the latter half of the twentieth century, and is now a pest in most Australian States.

Here is a grey squirrel who is so stuffed with bird seed it can't jump across to the feeder. Normally I never see any orange on the squirrels. I'm not an expert on naming wildlife (I just like to take pictures), but my neighbor, who does identify all the birds, etc. called the other ones fox squirrels. Maybe they are cross-bred?
Sandy Spring is zoned "rural", but is managing to grow anyway. But it has the feel of a small town, partly because many of the Quaker and African American families have lived here for generations creating a tight community. The core of the Quaker part of town is the Meeting House, Quaker school and Quaker retirement community. We also have three museums and the Underground Railroad Experience plus a recreation center and Adventure Park (zip lines) -- all of which make it seem richer in experiences than a typical rural town.