King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa) Tropical Color 4

Even scavengers in the tropical world can have ridiculous amounts of color. The king vulture is a large and impressive carrion feeder. As my wife would say "he cleans up well!".



king vulture (Sarcoramphus papa)



king vulture (Sarcoramphus papa)

Military Macaw (Ara militaris) Tropical Color 3

More gaudy color - this time from a pair of military macaws.



military macaw (Ara militaris) pair

Gaudy frogs - Tropical Color 2

Only in the tropics can you find such a colorful array of amphibians. The blue poison dart frog is so stunningly beautiful, that many people do not think this is a living creature - but a plastic chotchke from a tourist shop.



poison dart frog (dendrobates azureus)


Probably one of the most photographed frogs in the world is the red-eyed tree frog.



red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas)

Mouthless Crab (Gecarcinus quadratus) Tropical Color

In the tropics everything seems to get a turbo charge of color. Case in point: why does this mouthless crab need to be so adorned with bright, eye catching hues?



mouthless crab (Gecarcinus quadratus)



mouthless crab (Gecarcinus quadratus)


Photographed on the coast of Costa Rica.

Ornate Ichneumon Wasp (Thyreodon sp.)

This wasp was huge with beautiful orange antennae and orange striping on the abdomen. What really caught my eye was the violet iridescence of the wings. I'm not sure what these would look like under ultraviolet light (the spectrum that many insects see the world in), but the wings look mostly black until the light hits the surface just so.


ornate ichneumon wasp (Thyreodon sp.) with iridescent wings

Black And Yellow Mud Dauber Wasp (Sceliphron caementarium)

Wasps are often gangly, delicate looking creatures. Why they have the thread thin stalk leading to the abdomen is mysterious, but there is a whole group called "thread waisted wasps". While wasps will kill other insects to feed their young, it is not unusual for them to nectar on flowers like a bee.


Below a mud dauber wasp takes off from a salt heliotrope flower.


black and yellow mud dauber wasp (Sceliphron caementarium)

Great Golden Digger Wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus)

Wasps carry a vicious reputation for a generally mean disposition. It is well deserved. Of course, not all wasps are aggressive or quick to administer a painful sting, but it is wise to give them some distance unless you want to find out for yourself.


As warning, they typically flag themselves with gaudy colors - which makes them rather attractive to photograph...



Great Golden Digger Wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus)

Vivid Dancer Damselfly With Passengers

This image was in a recent presentation I did, and a member of the audience commented that it must be female because of the "eggs" near the end of the tail. In truth, these are not eggs. I did not notice them when I was taking the photo, but the camera makes it cleanly visible.



vivid dancer damselfly (Argia vivida)


Take a closer look



parasitic mites on the tail of a damselfly


They are mites, not eggs.


Every living creature seems to have to contend with one kind of parasite or another. Some are internal, and some are external. In this case the mites are probably tapping into the blood between segments in the exoskeleton.


I have seen damselflies covered from head to tail in mites, so by comparison this is a light load.

Native Green Bee (Andrena ilicis)

This lovely native bee was buzzing around the blooms of a flowering tree in Travis County, Texas. 



native green bee (Andrena ilicis)



native green bee (Andrena ilicis)


Notice this older worker (below), covered in pollen and with tattered wings, as she approaches the end of her useful life.

The Film Drawer - Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus caninus)

Took a trip through the film archive for a recent request. I sometimes wonder how many images I have taken so far in my twenty year career...