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Category Archives: bugs
Bombylius, Not Bombus
With the advent of sunny spring, I noticed my first lawn flower of the year, a chionodoxa, a tiny bluish flower with a whitish centre. It is sometimes known as the glory of the snow. Abruptly, the flower was … Continue reading
Posted in bugs, wildflowers
4 Comments
March goulash
This is a collection of interesting creatures taken this March that lacked a posting of their own. Many are seeing Evening Grosbeaks this year. Why have they become relatively common? In the spring, we see two species of bluebirds: … Continue reading
Posted in birds, bugs
6 Comments
Aestivation’s over
Now that September is here, daytime temperatures are somewhat more temperate and the mourning cloak butterfly is back in abundance. The mourning cloak likes to avoid temperature extremes, otherwise it closes down. Over winter, it hibernates (becomes dormant to … Continue reading
Posted in bugs
4 Comments
Dragonfly migrant
When we think of local migrants, we usually think of birds. Indeed, many of the birds we watch most assiduously, migrate in and out our region. But…, migrating insects? Most local insects spend their whole lives within kilometres of … Continue reading
Posted in bugs
4 Comments
August goulash
This is collection of images taken this August that lacked a posting of their own, primarily because they were all taken within the last few days. I would have liked to include some mammals. Alas, while I saw some, there … Continue reading
Posted in birds, bugs
5 Comments
Robber fly mating
Here are two more pictures of mating insects — well, it is that time of year. These are robber flies. A Robber fly, also known as an assassin fly, is large and a powerful flyer. Its name reflects the … Continue reading
Posted in bugs
3 Comments
Bluet disaster
Things were now looking good in the world of bluet damselflies. The previous posting, thwarted bluets, had reported on the problems of bluet couples: harassment and inaccessible aquatic weed for egg laying. However, now the aquatic weed had reached … Continue reading
Posted in birds, bugs
3 Comments
Thwarted bluets
The sex was good, but quickly things went downhill. Tule bluets are damselflies, the smallish cousins of dragonflies. While we have a number of species of damselflies, the tule bluet is the one I see most frequently along the … Continue reading
Posted in bugs
2 Comments
Sipping minerals
When encountered in the alpine, Bombus melanopygus was sipping nectar from an Alpine Milk-vetch(?). Farther down the mountain it was seen on the ground, apparently sipping minerals from rocks. This was unusual. The first observation of melanopygus was mundane: … Continue reading
Posted in bugs
7 Comments
Baby arthropods
Babies are cute. We seem to be hard wired to protect those adorable infants with their rounded, over-sized heads, large eyes, and chubby cheeks, whether they be human or animal. We just adore them. Well, maybe not all of … Continue reading
Posted in bugs
2 Comments