First of all, egad, how did July pass by without me blogging? Oh yes, because I was bugging! Apologies for the absence, but really, sit here at the computer or head outside and hunt bugs..?
Ok, so no surprise, I come from a very nature focused family. My parents are really into birds, and, common to avid birders, keep a "life list" of species they have spotted during their many years camping, summering at our upstate cottage, and recently, the cemetery near their home in Buffalo. Life lists by graveyards, gotta love it.
So, I have often lamented, why on earth do I have to be into insects, the most populous group in the animal kingdom?! Or to be scientific, the most populous class in the animal kingdom...But, I have found a few advantages. For one, I don't even have to get out of the apartment to get cool photos (http://magblog.audubon.org/insects-city-episode-one), and should I be lucky enough to be outside, I don't have far to walk to find more of my friends. But, for all you listers out there, one of the biggest advantage: a life bug list that is virtually endless and easier to update than those bug-eating birds!
It's hard to find people too enthused about my insect findings, so I resort to regaling my parents about spottings, and well, their title alone demands their interest, doesn't it? So weekends often involve me calling home, my mom answering, and me piping up "ohhh, guess what? I spotted three Life Bugs!" To which she petulantly replies, "that's not fair, you have more species to find than I do!" Ok, she isn't really petulant, it just had a nice alliteration to it. And should I get my Dad on the phone, after a short silence, he says "God you are really getting weird." Funny, a lot of friends concur.
In any case, there are times when even I feel a little bugged out, usually when on the computer, trying to ID some of the hundreds of new photos, thinking how I have to resize, create thumbnails, code profile pages, add to categories, and wonder if anyone will even click on it, let alone purchase an image. But then I come across one of my photos and realize it's insect that I have never seen before, blow it up larger, and marvel at nature's creation. Living in the East Village in New York City, there is amazing diversity of people outside my window. But I tell ya, these colorful kids have nothing on some of the bugs I have come across.
Well,enough jabbering, it's picture time! I hope you enjoy the smattering of recent Life Bugs below.
An Ailanthus Webworm Moth, Joseph's technicolor dreamcoat has nothing on this moth!
European Earwigs in a rose blossom, poor species has been libeled by old wives tales. It prefers the dark dampness of cellars, not human ears.
An Ornate Checkered Beetle, the photo doesn't do its coloring justice. The dark coloring ranges from metallic black to bright turquoise depending on how the sun light hits it.
A Nessus Moth, a type of Hawkmoth. Upon spotting, it flew away, but I returned every few minutes and was finally rewarded an hour later.
A Pinching Beetle, a type of Scarab Beetle. This sucker was a good three inches long, and one of the few insects I did not tempt to climb on me.
A Leafcutter Bee I believe, collecting its pollen on the hairs of the underside of its abdomen rather than its legs like honey bee and bumble saddle bags.
A three-lined Potato Beetle. Ok, you can't see any its lines in this photo, but I really like shooting insects head on, shows more personality, don't you think?