wildlife – Page 49 – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

Tiny Troubles

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Heal-all With Flea Beetle” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

How small is small? When you’re less than 1/8 of an inch long planet earth is a vast gigantic jungle. Even the tiny pharaoh ant dwarfs the little guy in tonight’s feature image. To give you the scale the Heal-all flower spike that he’s on top of is only about an inch long so he’s far smaller than 1/8 of an inch. When I spotted the little guy I was reminded of a poem I heard in grade school.

“If you missed me it’s not my fault.

I’m only the size of a grain of salt.”

I have to wonder if that because he’s so small if he can even perceive me as another life form and not some celestrial event like an eclipse. The tiny little bug is a flea beetle. But big trouble comes in small packages.

Experienced gardeners will know what the irregular shaped holes in the leaves of their crops mean. One flea beetle exploring a wildflower is kinda cute but 1000 of them one your favorite salad vegetables can be maddening. Especially if you have strong feelings about chemical pesticides on your food. Encouraging predators into your garden is always a good thing. Braconid Wasps and Tachinid Flies larvae both feed on flea beetles but I found it hard to believe they’d be able to host on one this small. However, a quick internet search revealed a tiny wasp even smaller than the beetle in tonight’s feature image. Plants like yarrow and Queen Anne’s Lace are generally considered to be weeds but they do attract parasitic wasps that are beneficial in the fight against garden pests like the flea beetle. Plants like mint seem to repell flea beetles as well as other pests while attracting pollenators

The tiny world is a dangerous place but aside from its shiny armor the flea beetle has an active defense. Their secret weapon is Maulik’s Organ. An organic spring built into the hind legs that is cocked and when released sends the flea beetle sailing through the air as if fired out of a cannon!

Some flea beetles are actually beneficial insects themselves. Depending on the species. They seem to be selective in their food choices and the plant they host on. Some will eat the weeds right out of your garden and never touch the plants you want to grow.

The little flea beetle in tonight’s feature image eventually decided that it didn’t like my presence and with a flick of it’s hind legs performed a disappearing act to rival any on stage. One second it was there and the next it was gone.

Image Titled “Heal-all Spike 71020”.

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

Lloyds Lens Photography web link — Click here to visithttps://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

Did you know that I also do portraits by appointment? If you’re interested in a portrait session either message me on Facebook or Use the Contact form. The YouTube link below takes you one of my slideshows.

https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

I’m now using Zazzle to fulfil orders. What this means for you is a secure way to place an order, discount codes & a broader product selection! Simplymessage me on Facebookoruse the contact form on my websiteand tell me which image you want and I’ll reply with a direct link to where you can place the order.

Clicking on the photo takes you tohttps://www.zazzle.com/lloydslensphotos?rf=238248269630914251

Lastly, all of the photos and writings are my original work unless otherwise specified and are not to be copied or reproduced without expressed written permission from the photographer

Thank you again for your support of my page! ❤

Enjoying The Sweetness

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Honeybee And White Clover 71620” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

Summer breezes gently flow across the treetops and spill into my yard. The creek is low from the lack of significant rain but it still babbles away like a toddler telling a reallygood story. My shadow falls across an eddie and the pool shimmers with small fish looking for a better spot to hide from the giant on the bank. I’ve allowed the lawn to go without being mowed for several weeks due to the dry weather and the clover has taken full advantage of the opportunity to live. At a distance I see more of white clusters move independent of the wind and know that the hive is also happy with my decision to let nature take its course for a while. The number of honeybees still isn’t really what it was a few years ago but the fact that they are so noticeable recently is encouraging. The brood is pretty tame but I don’t want to interfere with their work so I selected my long lens and lay on my belly in the grass.
The little honeybee obliges me by imeadiatly landing on the blossom I had selected. I couldn’t help but to be amused when her whole face disappeared in the tiny flower. It remindedme of a horse eating from a feed sack. She will only use a small portion of nectar to top off her tank and the rest will be delivered to the hive wherever they have chosen to tuck it away. She alternates between the nectar of the clover and the pollen of the rib grass.

Image Titled “Honeybee And Rib Grass 71620a”

The summer is short for me but for the worker honeybee it’s her whole life. At the most she has 7 weeks to enjoy the sun and feast on the sweetness of summer. There’s nothing else in her universe but the sun and the fields of sweet clover to enjoy. Perhaps the truth is that she does realize how small her world is and she choses to focus on the good things. That which is limited is most cherished and she has the will to pursue every second of her purpose.

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

I’m now using Zazzle to fulfil orders. What this means for you is a secure way to place an order, discount codes & a broader product selection! Simplymessage me on Facebookoruse the contact form on my websiteand tell me which image you want and I’ll reply with a direct link to where you can place the order.

Thank you again for your support of my page! ❤

Emerald On Gold

Color Photography, wildlife

The August sun finds me strolling the path along the Kanawha River. The hazy air ahead of me is full of tiny bodies that catch the light. They’ve gathered en masse to celebrate the the first of their favorite flower. The sweet anise scent draws them from entire forest. The bees themselves resemble little machines made of living emeralds. We typically call theses little guys sweat bees because they are attracted to the salt humans give off when we sweat but they seem to forgive us for the diminutive nomenclature and pollenate our plants anyway. Stone fruits like peaches, alfalfa and sunflowers are heavily visited by these solitary little flying gemstones. Even the goldenrod that they love can be useful to humans. Most of us are familiar with sting of a sweat bee but I’ve learned to be careful about what I attempt to swat when I feel that tickle on my skin. Sweat bees would really rather not sting unless it’s a last resort. When shown a little tolerance they soon leave on their own and if not a quick puff of air sends them on their way painlessly for both human and pollinator. Learning not to fear seems to be a secret to not being stung. Although some of these bees seem to go crazy for human sweat but that seems to be the exception rather than the norm. Overall they along with mason bees and carpenter bees were responsible for pollinating most of crops in North America prior to the arrival of the European Honeybee in 1622. In fact only the honeybees outnumber the sweat bees in North America. With the threat of colony collapse disorder the solitary bees are our best hope of maintaining viable agriculture. So when you see the tiny little bees swarming around a wildflower don’t think of them as pests but instead as a backup pollinator.

Of course with the arrival of the goldenrod we also reach a tick mark on the natural calendar. Late summer has arrived and soon the air will begin to crisp.

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

Thank you again for your support of my page!❤

Outstanding In His Field

Color Photography, wildlife

The curiosity of a squirrel is really an amazing thing. I don’t think there’s a nook or crany that they won’t explore given half a chance. They are masters of trees and if the forest is dense enough only a bird could cover more distance without touching ground. But on open ground they’re vulnerable. As I eased the big blue truck along the gravel road the fox squirrel must have perceived me as a threat and he stood up to get a better look. In this position he has nearly a 360 view of the world. A squirrel has to have great focal eyesight to accurately leap from branch to branch and their peripheral vision is almost as good. He stood in the spot like a furry garden gnome. I don’t think he even blinked for several minutes but as soon as I let my foot slip from the break pedal and the truck he broke from his stance and made his way to the closest tree in long bounds. In a gravity defying feat of acrobatics he ran a spiral pattern up a huge hickory tree and vanished like ghost. I have know doubts that those incredibly keen eyes remained fixed on the big blue truck as it rolled away in the distance.

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

Thank you again for your support of my page! ❤

Dutchman’s Pipe & The Pipevine Swallowtail.

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Sweet Encounter 72320” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The Pipevine Swallowtail flutters his wings to groom the flowers as he settles into place. His deft landing is so subtle that only a few grains of pollen slip onto the pedals of the flower. The scent of the sun warmed nectar fills the air around the the little stand of hibiscus bushes that we call Rose Of Sharon. He’s living the sweet life. Throughout his adult life he’ll visit and pollinate a variety of flowers and actually share a meal with humans by visiting flowers that we also consume. It had a fact that Rose Of Sharon originates in Asia and in its homeland it is consumed like a vegetable. But we’ll explore that topic on a different post. Tonight’s post is about the poison that gives the Pipevine Swallowtail it’s name. The Dutchman’s Pipe.

Image Titled “Pipevine 71420a” showing the heart shaped leaves.

The beautiful black wings with their iridescent blue highlights and bright orange spots started off as a black and red worm that fed exclusively on on a toxic vine. I have visited this particular vine on and off for a couple of years but it hasn’t been host to a brood of caterpillars yet. It also has not bloomed yet and I think that’s connected. Several of the YouTube videos that reviewed in preparation for tonight’s article mention that while the books say that the caterpillars feed on the leaves that they really go for the unopened flowers. ( For my original Pipevine Swallowtail post click here)

The Books say that Dutchman’s Pipe is found on rich riverbanks but the only difference between a river and a creek is the length. And this little vine on my creek is proof that Dutchman’s Pipe doesn’t care about where a stream begins or ends. All it wants is the right sun and soil.

Image Titled “Dutchman’s Pipe 42720” showing the growth and climbing pattern.

My first encounter with this native vine was in early Spring. Without the heart shaped leaves I mistook it for Moonseed and ignored it at first. But I did think that in a few years the spiraling pattern would leave me with an interesting walking stick. But a few weeks later the leaves began to come out and show me that I had misjudged the vine.

Image Titled “Awakening Pipevine”.

I could already tell that the leaves were not right for Moonseed.

The vine gets it’s name from the serpentine shaped flowers flowers which this particular vine has failed to produce so far. While the garden varieties often have large showy flowers the wild variety is a little more subdued. The ones that I’ve seen are small in comparison and greenish yellow. But what they all have in common is that they are a far cry from the sweet scented Rose Of Sharon in tonight’s feature image. In fact the flowers of Dutchman’s Pipe smell like rancid meat and are pollinated by flies.

Image Titled “Dutchman’s Pipe 61520”. Unfortunately the vine has not bloomed this year.

The flower if it had bloomed this year actually traps it’s pollenators and holds them prisoner until the job is done.

Even though I didn’t get to see the unique flowers of the Dutchman’s Pipe this year there’s still an excellent change to find a small clutch of red eggs underneath the leaves or to see the black and red caterpillars grazing on their host.

It should be noted that this North American native species has found it’s way down under to Australia where it’s become an invasive species that is actually killing off their native butterflies. It’s odd that in some states they almost lost a beautiful pollenator in the Pipevine Swallowtail because urban development pushed out the Pipevine while our Southern neighbors in Australia are fighting to save their native butterflies due to an over abundance of Pipevine. I typically try not to bring up the current issues that we see in the news and on social media but this the very kind of thing that the Department of Agricultural fears with mysterious seeds being sent from China. The domino effect is real and if the wrong plants are allowed to cone into an area where there’s no checks on the population it can push out the natives as well as the species that have developed to depend on them.

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

Thank you again for your support of my page! ❤