Category Archives: bugs

Hummingbird moth

  Name calling This particular species appears to be Hemaris thetis. Historically it went by the names H. senta and H. diffinis. It has had the common names of Rocky Mountain Clearwing, Snowberry Clearwing, and California Clearwing. As a group (genus), … Continue reading

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Butterfly love

  Two Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies make love on a bed of lilacs.  

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Bird bites bug

  Predatory birds and insects often use one of two strategies for finding food: one group sits and waits, only to sally forth after prey is spotted; the other group actively forages. The two species of dragonflies I watched last … Continue reading

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Bumble bee shots

  A bumble bee (unknown species) was working the flowers of the deer brush and produced three interesting shots. The anthers and stigmas of the flowers extend well above the rest of the flower, so as this bee inserts its … Continue reading

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Yard delights

  Many postings are narrowly focused. This one wanders. This Song Sparrow is one of the many birds busily catching bugs and ferrying them to its chicks. I have seen the Western Tiger Swallowtail a few times of late; this … Continue reading

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Nectar robbers

  Flowers produce nectar for one reason: to entice insects to brush against their reproductive organs and, in doing so, to transfer pollen from one flower to the next. To accomplish this, flowers are structured such that the insect must … Continue reading

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Name that bug

  An unexpected pleasure this morning was an item on the CBC’s radio programme, Daybreak South. It was about bugs (well, arthropods, actually). Listeners had sent in pictures which were then posted and now entomologist, Hugh Philip, was naming and … Continue reading

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Pond skater friends

  A year ago, I took pictures while a pond skater went in for the kill. Now, I have watched two of them—er—make friends. That may well cover the gamut of pond-skater behaviour: food and sex. “Will you be my friend?” … Continue reading

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White butt lives

  The story of the western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis) is a sad one. At one time this bee was the familiar accompaniment to spring and summertime flowers throughout the western cordillera. Common and widespread, its range extended across Alaska and … Continue reading

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Trilliums & ants

  The moist forest floor was sprinkled with trilliums. The trillium is a springtime flower based on three: three leaves, three sepals, three petals. It enriches an early seasonal walk through the woods. Not far from the trilliums was a vigorous … Continue reading

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