Category Archives: Insect Behavior

11.07.2016 Beauty amidst Death

Posted on November 7, 2016 by

This is part of a dead or dying stand of Red Pines (Sylvestres resinosa) in the Quabbin Park area. The trees were infested by Red Pine Scale (Matsucoccus resinosae) which attacks them underneath the flaky bark. It was once a lovely … Continue reading →

Posted in Autumn Color, Fall Foliage, Insect Behavior, Landscape, Nature Photography, Quabbin, Western Massachusetts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

07.21.2016 Brilliant Beetle

Posted on July 21, 2016 by

One of my favorite insects to photograph is the Dogbane Leaf Beetle (Chrysochus auratus).  They are quite accommodating in the morning and allow for close approach and hardly move…just the occasional twitch of the antennae. They are found on milkweed … Continue reading →

Posted in Amherst, Closeup Photography, Insect Behavior, Insects, macro photography, Nature Photography, Western Massachusetts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

08.19.2015 Melanoplus femurrubrum

Posted on August 19, 2015 by

As far as I can tell, these Red-legged Grasshoppers (Melanoplus femurrubruml are our most ubiquitous orthopteran in my locale.  I rarely see another but I am not beating the bushes looking for them either.  How the red-legged grasshopper got his name … Continue reading →

Posted in Closeup Photography, Insect Behavior, Insects, macro photography, Nature Photography | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

08.17.2015 Back to the bugs…errrr, beetles

Posted on August 17, 2015 by

One of these days I might settle on a particular subject of interest…insects, flowers, landscapes, water in motion…there is just so much in Nature to experience and I have never been able to narrow my pursuits into one area.  Generalists…stand … Continue reading →

Posted in Closeup Photography, Insect Behavior, Insects, macro photography, Nature Photography | Tagged , , , | 30 Comments

08.10.2015 Honest honey, it’s not what it looks like

Posted on August 10, 2015 by

Although I am sure this shot isn’t going to make anyone jealous, it isn’t what it seems…really, it isn’t.  🙂 This is a pair of jagged ambush bugs.Phymata sp. It is fairly common to find a male riding a female’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Closeup Photography, Insect Behavior, Insects, macro photography, Nature Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

08.07.2015 More backyard bugography

Posted on August 7, 2015 by

First of all, this is not a bug by definition.  It’s a Great Golden Digger Wasp-Sphex ichneumoneus and fairly large…about an inch long.  But it’s a gentle giant in terms of aggression towards humans and of no threat whatsoever to … Continue reading →

Posted in Closeup Photography, Insect Behavior, Insects, macro photography, Nature Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

08.06.2015 Giving it up for future butterflies

Posted on August 6, 2015 by

Mary Beth noticed these on her potted parsley plants while hanging the laundry the other day.  Two instars (metamorphic stages) of Black Swallowtail caterpillars- Papilio polyxenes. They are eating pretty voraciously so I purchased four more plants and stuck them into … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Behavior, Closeup Photography, Insect Behavior, Nature Photography | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments