Life and Death in the Backyard

On some of these warmer, sultry days it is nice to stick close to home and the A/C. With a backyard full of native and non-native plants, there is often something to photograph if one wants to venture out.

There is always the proverbial American Robin nesting in two or three places, putting up a fuss if any human is found in proximity to its recently fledged young.

Echinacea (Purple Coneflower) is nicely coming into peak flowering condition right now.

It attracts a number of insects, and is always worth checking out. Earlier today I noted a strange looking little critter poking its head out.

I wasn't sure what it was, but kept an eye on it off and on. Eventually it got out a little further. It is only about 8 mm in total length, so I needed the macro lens and most of the extension tubes to get these shots.

 It is an Ambush Bug, and true to its name, ambushed this fly that was searching for nectar.

There has been at least one Monarch hanging around the yard every day for a couple of weeks or more.

 Red Admirals are not very common these days.

 Silver-spotted Skippers seem to be even less common.

 This is a metallic green type of sweat bee of the Halictidae group.

 Flower flies, or syrphids, are some of the most abundant species of fly visiting various flowers. The patterns on their abdomen are helpful in determining what they are. This one appears to be a member of the Allograpta genus.

Milkweeds are fairly aromatic, and attract lots of insects. I had this Hickory Hairstreak stop by briefly.

 Various flies and bees love visiting the milkweeds. However there is a danger to insects of a certain size. If they are just big enough, they can get their foot caught in the flowering parts and are not able to escape.

This next photo shows a deceased bee with its foot caught.

One can almost always find other insects visiting milkweeds.

Large Milkweed Bug

Red Milkweed Beetle

Minettia fly (about 5 mm)

Dill and parsley are favourite places for Black Swallowtails to lay their eggs. I watched this adult alight briefly and move the tip of her abdomen up to the stem.

 Not too many days later, I investigated and found two caterpillars. They are both in this next photo, but the lower one is clearly much larger than the one partially hidden by the petioles of the dill flower head. Unfortunately neither got to the stage of being able to form a pupa. Various parasitic wasps are also fairly common, and I expect one of them found these small caterpillars, paralyzed them and flew off with them to deposit in their nesting burrow. There, they will lay an egg and when it hatches, the larva will feed on the still living, but paralyzed caterpillar.

A couple of very large and impressive critters also hanging around the dill were these Cicada Killers. The first image shows the two large females, each of which was a good 5 cm (2") long. A smaller male was also around, attempting to mate with one of the females. I took these photos with a macro lens at a distance of about 12-15 cm, and used a flash. Fortunately Cicada Killers are only dangerous if you are a cicada. They are fairly docile otherwise, unless roughly handled.

Female Cicada Killer

Other odds and ends included things like this Braconid wasp, which parasitizes other insects.

 A Common Whitetail which pops in every once in awhile.

A probable Digger Wasp, which nests underground.

 Another Flower Fly type.

 An immature grasshopper.

 The non-native Brown Marmoted Stink Bug....in this case it is a nymph or sub-adult.

 A very tiny (~3 mm dia) Orange-spotted Lady Beetle.

 This large bluish/black wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus)

A lot of these images were taken with a macro lens, of course. I also used a couple of different camera bodies (Canon 5D3 or 7D2) and at times was able to use my Canon 100-400mm telephoto zoom lens which, even without extension tubes, will focus to about 3 feet, so it is especially useful in photographing butterflies. With extension tubes, both the telephoto zoom and the macro lens will enable me to get even closer. Of course I use a flash system a lot of the time as well.

I have two 100mm macro lenses, and I am considering selling my older one. It is a Canon 100 mm 2.8  USM, and includes a tripod collar and UV filter. If you were buying it new, it lists for $880, plus tax, plus the filter. In checking most on line camera outlets that post reviews, this clearly is a fine lens in itself, but I purchased an even better (and more expensive, naturally) Canon lens. A used one via a camera store that sells used equipment has listed them at about $550-600, plus tax. My lens has served me well, but I don't need this one since I upgraded, and therefore am willing to sell it for $450.

If you are interested, let me know by contacting me at prairie_tramper@yahoo.com.

Life on a milkweed

I'm a big fan of milkweeds. There are 9 species that are native to southwestern Ontario, some of which are quite rare. The most common species is...you guessed it...Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). It can vary in colour......

...but they all seem to be very fragrant. To me, it seems to be the most fragrant of all of the Asclepias species, and judging by the number of pollinators and others that can be found on it during the time it flowers, it is quite fragrant to all of these insects as well.

Fortunately I have a dozen or more plants in my yard, which enables me to keep close tabs on what insects are visiting, and many of the following photos were taken there. But whenever I am out in a natural area, I try and take a look to see what I can find and photograph on the milkweeds there.

Some of the critters are quite tiny. This first image shows the Ailanthus moth, which is named for its association with Tree-of-heaven. This tree is not native, but does well in disturbed areas and abandoned city lots. They are also invasive in even higher quality natural areas, unfortunately, but at least the moth is colourful.

Ailanthus moth

This next one is a very small day flying moth, called a Currant Clearwing. The larvae feed on raspberries, which we have in fair abundance in our yard.

Currant Clearwing

 An even tinier flying insect is this iridescent Long-legged Fly resting on the milkweed leaf. It is incredibly fast. I couldn't use the Through The Lens flash metering system of the camera as that system sends a quick burst of light to the subject to evaluate how much light is needed before generating a second flash during the actual photo. In the less than 1/1000 sec between the initial burst and the one given during the time the photo was taken, the fly had disappeared completely out of the frame, so I had to resort to manual flash where just a single burst is given.

Long-legged Fly (Condylostylus sp)

 This next one is a One-spotted Stinkbug. I didn't get a chance to see if it lived up to its name. This was photographed at Bickford Oak Woods and is the second time I have seen and photographed one there.

One-spotted Stinkbug

 Next is the aptly named Red Milkweed Beetle. They are fairly abundant.

In a previous blog post I highlighted how death comes to insects looking for nectar. This next image shows a medium-sized bee that has just been 'caught'. Note its right hind leg which is outstretched behind and up into the flower. The bee struggled and struggled and eventually was able to escape.

Even butterflies can end up with their legs caught. This Mourning Cloak in the next image

is a good-sized butterfly, but it was caught. At first I just thought it was busily feeding on the nectar, but after awhile I realized it couldn't get away. It struggled for a long time. I eventually gently grabbed its leg and tugged just enough to get its leg out intact, whereupon the butterfly moved over to an Echinacea plant nearby and just sat there for the longest time, presumably exhausted by its struggle and trying to decide whether the nectar at that fragrant milkweed was worth the risk.

Mourning Cloak

 Other butterflies include this Banded Hairstreak, only the second one I have noted in our yard.

Banded Hairstreak

Northern Broken-Dash Skipper

Question Mark

Tawny-edged Skipper (tentative ID)

 Sometimes one comes across a more vicious looking creature. While prowling around looking for something tiny to photograph, I came across this cluster of Earwigs tucked in waiting for darkness so they could head out searching for plant or insect matter to feed on. Those pincers are impressive!

Another impressive looking insect is this quite large Great Golden Digger Wasp. Most members of the bee and wasp family that are found here are mostly interested in the nectar or other insects. I've never been bothered even though I am using a macro lens and flash. Moving slowly and carefully is the key, I think. There is one extremely large bluish black wasp that I have yet to photograph, but when it comes around it is constantly on the move and I haven't been able to get close enough....yet.

Great Golden Digger Wasp

 This next critter is one of the several different kinds of Flower Long-horned Beetles that can be found visiting flowers. Characteristic of this group is the very long antennae, usually at least half the total length of the insect's body.

Flower Long-horned Beetle

It looks like I can expect another generation of Red-banded Leafhoppers on my milkweed next season!

Red-banded Leafhopper

We don't have any squash growing in our yard, but we had this Squash Vine Borer, another type of day-flying moth, visiting the milkweed.

Squash Vine Borer moth

There isn't much water near by, but we get the occasional dragonfly. This female White-faced Meadowhawk is just using the milkweed as a resting place, and probably waiting to launch itself out to capture a flying insect for its next meal.

Milkweeds are indeed, great places to look for wildlife!