Category Archives: bugs

Playing catchup

I wander around taking in my surroundings. Sometimes no theme presents itself for a posting. All I have is a series of unlinked scenes. Such is the case here with these half–dozen images from this last week: Painted Turtles, American … Continue reading

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Comstock’s Sallow

Comstock’s Sallow (Feralia comstocki) is a moth. I am used to thinking about moths as being nocturnal, but this one was flying around during the day. It alighted on my driveway and started sucking nutrients (salts?) in a manner similar to … Continue reading

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Four–spotted spotting

Along a path through the wetlands just south of Kootenay Lake were hundreds of Four-spotted Skimmers. These dragonflies are both stunning and new to me. Peter McIver had led the West Kootenay Naturalists to this area around Leach Lake following … Continue reading

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Pollinia

Until yesterday, pollinia were vaguely remembered structures encountered only in obscure books. Then I saw some. One often sees a solitary bee covered in pollen (first picture). Also, one often sees a female bumble bee carrying a pollen ball on … Continue reading

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More spring

Bugs and birds abound now that we have had a day or three of sunshine. Here is a collection of a few of them from yesterday and today. Lincoln’s Sparrow is frequent around the Lake in the spring and summer, … Continue reading

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Spring has arrived?

It is nearly half–past May and we are all looking for some evidence that there will be a spring this year. Today was sunny and warm, so I headed out to see how nature might have responded. Some of the … Continue reading

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Grub

Ok, I know that this shows a picture of a grub and that a few milliseconds later it ceased being a grub. Actually, it is not all that easy to take such a picture because the time between a robin … Continue reading

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Spider anxiety

Spring is late; flowers are late; bees are late; flies are late. What is a poor spider to do but sit and yearn? This jumping spider was waiting anxiously on a leaf this afternoon. It may go hungry for another … Continue reading

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Winter Wasp

Today, as the temperature hovered around -7°C and the visibility over the Lake dropped to zero in blowing snow (first picture), I was visited by—gulp—a wasp (second picture). The only wasps which live through the winter around here are queens. … Continue reading

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Caught in flight

Some dragonflies watch for prey from a perch and then head out after it. This is not the case with darners, which hunt on the wing. This makes them a challenge to photograph. Below are four views, taken in late … Continue reading

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