Reconnecting with nature through hiking, camping, and paddling
At first I thought the beetle on this thin-leaved sunflower was a soldier beetle but something didn’t look quite right. Looking more closely I’ve identified it as a Pennsylvania Leatherwing Beetle. According to insectidentification.org, the Pennsylvania Leatherwing Beetle is highly beneficial in their predation of aphids. As a bonus, their quest for insect prey turns them into efficient pollinators.
I had a little trouble identifying this species of wasp but I believe it is a paper wasp. In my experience they are not aggressive unless you disturb their nests. In this case I was photographing wildflowers when the wasp approached to gather nectar. I sat still, watched and photographed it and the wasp didn’t even seem to notice me.
Last Saturday morning I walked through an open field covered in wildflowers. I always like diving into areas like that and discovering all the little things you would miss if you didn’t actually look for them. On this particular morning I found the butterflies, bees, wasps, and dragonflies had their run of the meadow. This little skipper was feeding on the nectar of thin-leaved sunflowers which dominated the field.
It’s been a very busy summer and I haven’t spent as much time with my camera as I would have liked so I’m pulling out some photos from last year that I never got around to publishing.
This Black Eyed Susan was growing in a forest meadow alongside wild daisies. It looked sort of like the odd man out, surrounded by white flowers. I took a few photos of the lone blooming Black Eyed Susan surrounded by Daisies but I preferred this more closely cropped image of the flower.
Sometimes being a morning person pays off. I took this photo during a trip to the beach last August. I noticed the cloud bank that night and thought it was a shame the clouds probably wouldn’t be there at sunrise. To my great surprise, the clouds barely moved overnight! I awoke before dawn and watched this amazing sunrise slowly transform into morning.
This Little Wood Satyr alighted on some vegetation just ahead of me as I hiked through a marshy, open forest. The strong, direct sunlight really lit up its wings.
Hiking past a large patch of Arrowleaf Balsamroot, I noticed a Zebra Swallowtail drifting from flower to flower collecting nectar and unwittingly spreading pollen in the process.