Variable Checkerspot
A Variable Checkerspot captured on Mingus Mountain. The background was very busy and mostly dead stuff so I added a couple of textures to make it a little more interesting.
Posts from the ‘Fauna’ Category
Jun 3
May 31
My Hummer Buddies
Hummingbirds are very curious and boy are they fearless! Within minutes of going out to photograph in my yard, there will be a Hummer inches of my head and flitting around me for a few seconds as if to be checking me out. I think they like my hat 🙂 Whatever the reason, I love it. That particular morning, I was experimenting taking photos of cactus blooms with my 300mm lens. Right next to the cactus is an Aloe and almost the instant I started to shoot, this guy came in and started feeding. Unfortunately, my 300mm lens only focuses to 3 feet which meant I had to back up to take its photo…hence no tail.
Captured May 1st with 300mm lens. ISO 400, 1/600th sec at f/5
May 28
Saguaro Cactus Blooms
With all the other cactus putting on such a good show this year, I am surprised our Saguaros are not as full of blooms as past years. Another thing I’ve noticed is a lower population of bees. This image was captured a few years ago.
May 24
Northern White Skipper
This Northern White Skipper was too busy drinking to be bothered by my lens in his face.
May 23
Common Sootywing
I went searching for butterflies, skippers, etc, on Mingus Mountain near Jerome yesterday. Fabulous day but it was cloudy and windy so the species were few and far between. Here is one lucky shot for me since the tiny daisy was swaying back and forth. The one inch Sootywing was common to my fellow butterfly hunters but new to me (Common Sootywing). Of course, most of them are 🙂
May 22
Bloody Net-winged Beetle
I was lucky to capture two shots of my prize Bloody Net-winged Beetle as he was leaving. Canon 7D, 24-70mm lens with 500D close-up filter. ISO 400, 1/1000th sec at f/5.6
May 21
Butterflies and Beetles
Yesterday was the last official day for the flora survey until after the hot weather. Although I did get some photos of flowers, my prize captures yesterday were a couple of butterflies and a gorgeous red beetle! At upper left is a Marine Blue Butterfly. Lower left is a Mormon Metalmark Butterfly. It took a lot of googling to ID the beetle but I finally found that it’s a Bloody Net-Winged Beetle. What a name!
May 20
Sonoran Desert Bees
According to Stephan Buchman, there might be as many as 1000 species of native bees in the Sonoran Desert. Many are very small and some are brilliantly colored but best of all, most are solitary which makes them not as threatening as the European honey bee. They are all fascinating to watch as they fly in and out of holes in the ground, trees, or even spaces between blocks. (Solitary Bee loading up on pollen from an Echinopsis)
