Friendship

A flower, a bug and a fly.
Have a great day!

Insects and Sunshine

When the rain stops and the skies clear, the insects come out to "play"! If we go outdoors in the very moment the blazing sun begins heating the earth again, we will step into a magical world.

Where were all the wonderful pollinators five minutes ago when the rain poured from the heavens? Were they taking shelter under a leaf or a blade of grass?

"POOF", as if by magic, they reappear buzzing and flying from plant to plant making us believe that nothing at all had occurred to interrupt them in the first place.

Bee Mimic Flower Fly (Hover Fly)

Helophilus fasciatus (Syrphidae)

"Me and my shadow"

A different kind of Fly
on Wild Strawberry flower

Another Fly

Swallowtail Butterfly on Lilac blossom

Insect Habitat

This is our weedy path that we take to go

into the forest. All the insects love this one
particular sunny spot. The unidentified
butterfly and the damselfly were found here.
All I have to do is stand on this path and
hope that some delicate butterfly will land so
I can take a picture. Sometimes I've used up
most of my patience and also swatted away
many, many mosquitoes before this happens.
But, oh the glee and satisfaction when I come
away with one or two photos.

May 30/08

Forlorn looking butterfly.
I only noticed his damaged wings
when he stopped to rest.

June 2/08

This is another one of the same species,
but in rather better condition, photo
taken yesterday.

May 31/08

Crane Fly, also know as Daddy Longlegs

River Trail, June 1/08

I wonder if this is a Mourning Cloak Butterfly.

June 2/08
Pond Damselfly

I'm not absolutely positive, but I think
(after extensive research) this is a male Subarctic Bluet.
Flight period: B.C., late May to late August.

If you have any information on these butterflies or the damselfly, I'd be ever so grateful for your knowledge.

Bug Fest

I'm far from being a bug expert. I guess you could say I'm horrible at knowing which bug is which. Today when I went outside to take photos of the flowers, many had something sitting on them. It was a very warm afternoon, and the first insects I noticed, aside from the mosquitoes, were the dragonflies. I think they are dragonflies and not damselflies because (and this is what I found out later) dragonflies hold their wings horizontally when at rest, while damselflies hold their wings closer to their bodies. I'll have to try and take some better pictures as they are beautiful insects, and they eat mosquitoes. The insect on the dandelion looks like a bee, but my husband reminded me that when our children were young, they used to catch these little flying insects in their hands and didn't worry about being stung. There are quite a lot of them about as well.

Dragonfly in grass

What is this on the dandelion?

Insect on Arnica

Dragonfly on Saskatoon Berry Shrub or Serviceberry

Amazing . . . .

Before I left the house today to go walking, my husband warned me to "watch for bears". (Not that we have that many bears here, but we still have to be careful, as we've seen one or two in past years) They are out of hibernation, too and may be looking for a nice colony of . . . .

Some interesting facts:
- on earth 140 million years.
- more than 12 000 species on the planet.
- highly developed social organization.
- can lift 10 - 20 times their own body weight.
- mostly omnivorous, eating other insects, seeds, oils.
- strong jaws.
- keep their nests very clean.

(for the best effect click on pictures to enlarge)

- average life span is 45 - 60 days.
- largest brain of any insect.
- uses its antennae for touch as well as smell.
- when a worker finds food, it leaves a scent trail (pheromones) to
attract others in the colony to it.

They really are industrious. This is part of their colony.
They must have brought most of these bits and pieces.
Today I saw them carrying spruce needles, grass and tiny twigs.

They climb mountains every day.

An entrance to the nest.

"If ants are such busy workers, how come they find time to go to all the picnics?"
~Marie Dressler (1868-1934) Actress

Are you feeling all creepy crawly?