Reader Tom Hennessy from Virginia sent some nice flower photos:
I clipped off a bit of a Columbine [Aquilegia sp.] flower from my garden to bring indoors for a few macro photos. Only after I had the photos up on my computer screen did I realize that I had a tiny stowaway on the stem of the flower. The first two shots are what I was looking to get from the photos; the next two show the insect which may be some type of aphid, and appears to be sucking on the stem. If I had known it was there I would have tried to get a closer shot of it.
Randy Schenck from Iowa has pelicans (what are they doing in Iowa?):
Another group of American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) came by, late afternoon today. The last picture of this group includes all 14 inthe photo. The first photo shows how a pelican sits with a layered look on the water. The large wings make up the upper or second layer with the body beneath. This makes the pelican look top heavy because those huge wings are all folded up on top. Also note, the bottom of the beak is almost black or muddy and this is probably caused by sticking the long beak down in the water to catch fish. The bottom of the lake is a very black mud.
And birds from reader James Blilie:
Hooded Merganser pair (Lophodytes cucullatus):
I think the “stowaway” is just the cast (molted) exoskeleton of a small insect — it probably was an aphid. But, it’s not in there any more!
I think that is right.
I agree. It appears to be exuviae, not the insect itself.
Isn’t the last one a woolly bear?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrharctia_isabella
There’s a festival here in northern Ohio about them every year, and one of our local TV stations follows their emergence almost as much as they do Lent…
How cute! A Woolly Bear Festival!
Check out http://vermilionchamber.net/festivals/woolybear/
Wooly bears are much more interesting than Lent!
Maybe you could give up wooly bears for Lent.
Correct!
I was offline all weekend!
“what are they doing in Iowa?”
I’ve been seeing pelicans on a lake in central Minnesota over the past few years. Historically, great blue herons frequented the lake, until a nearby rookery was disrupted by road construction about ten years ago. I’d love to know whether the presence of the pelicans is due to the shorter winters or the lack of competition from the herons.
Pretty sure the Pelicans we see here quite often are simply stopping on the migration. They sometimes stay a few hours or a couple of days. The group in the photos came yesterday and are still out there fishing away. They march around the lake bank, as if they are herding the fish. The Cormorant jump into the mix and it is a feeding frenzy.
I swear there was a nesting population on the Illinois River near Lacon. I think we saw them in July. I reported this to Cornell, and they pretty much blew it off. This year, I’ll go up there expecting to see them (and likely see nothing). I suspect there are breeding colonies farther south than ever.
I believe the first insect picture is a boxelder bug, Boisea trivittata.
Boxelder bugs are true bugs, lacking the segmented body of insects
Correct!
When people ask if we allow fishing I just say no, we don’t do that any more, I should probably just say, it depends on the species.
pelicans (what are they doing in Iowa?) – migrating. they will summer somewhat further northwest.
@Tom: photography question for you. How did you get the white background for Columbine shots?
I would just put it against a white background, at a distance so the surface would not be in focus. The rest would be done by playing with camera settings.
🙂
Charleen; I have a photo “table” that looks like a chair, a flat bottom with a panel that curves up to form the back. It is translucent plastic. I set a pair of lights behind it to provide a bright white background. I purchased it from Cowboystudi.com and I use it a lot.
http://www.cowboystudio.com/product_p/shooting%20table.htm
Tom
Handy. I’d have so much fun if I had one a translucent table. Thanks.
Sub