Flying Bumble Bee (Bombus huntii)

arge bumble bee (Bombus huntii) flies toward the camera after collencting nectar from a rhododendron flower

Green Bottle Fly

You don't want to know about the habits of the green bottle fly, a member of the blow fly family. But I have always admired the green iridescence of its exoskeleton.
The photo below paints something of an idyllic picture. Don't be fooled. Sure, this fly will enjoy an occasional meal of flower nectar - but If you want to know more about how this fly thrives - just go here.



green bottle fly (calliphora sp.) , a member of the blow fly family

Spotted Wing Fruit Fly (Drosophila suzukii) Version 2

I recently purchased a new laser trigger system to use in high-speed photography – it is considerably more advanced than the old laser system I was using. 


When the asian fruit flies (from yesterday's post) were delivered to my home studio, I had just a few hours to get a number of technically challenging photographs including high-speed shots of the flies in flight. I have been doing this for years, but setting up this system is not easy, and I can spend five hours or more just getting everything calibrated and running.


Adding to this particular challenge is the scale of a fruit fly. They are little specks when viewed with the naked eye. And they are incredibly fast. As one moves down in scale, the technical challenged of focus, speed, and trigger response become acute. 


The StopShot laser system, built by Paul DeZeeuw made several of my technical challenges much easier to deal with, and I was able to nail some high-speed shots of the fruit flies in action. I was up till 2AM getting the shots, but I made the deadline.



A female spotted wing fruit fly (Drosophila suzukii) approaching a fresh strawberry



A male spotted wing fruit fly (Drosophila suzukii) approaching a fresh strawberry.

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)

Canyon Bat (Parastrellus hesperus) – What's In A Name?

Naming creatures of the wild is no easy task. When Carolus Linnaeus (1707 - 1778) famously created the classification and naming conventions we still use today, animals were labeled using a mishmash of greek, latin and common names that varied from region to region.


The truth is that classifying and naming animals is still a great challenge to this day.


A case in point: the western pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus hesperus) is now to be called the canyon bat (Parastrellus hesperus). Biologists had good reason to do this in 2006 after genetic tests revealed that it was unrelated to the eastern pipistrelle.


I still stumble whenever I have to say the bat's name outloud...



Canyon Bat (Parastrellus hesperus)

Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sexguttata)

The naturalist, J. B. S. Haldane, was asked by a cleric about what he might infer about the Creator, based on his wide ranging study of life. Haldane supposedly replied that the creator had "an inordinate fondness for beetles" based on the then current count of beetle species at around 400,000.

Beetles are the largest of insect orders, and therefore one of the widest spread and most successful orders of life on Earth. 

They demonstrate tremendous diversity, and come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors...

One of the most colorful beetles I have photographed is the tiger beetle.

six-spotted tiger beetle (Cicindela sexguttata)

They are aggressive, voracious predators with lightning quick moves.

six-spotted tiger beetle (Cicindela sexguttata)

Never mind that it took me three days to photograph one in flight.

six-spotted tiger beetle (Cicindela sexguttata)

flying six-spotted tiger beetle (Cicindela sexguttata)

Red Ichneumon Wasp (Ichneumonidae)

These small, delicate wasps are typically nocturnal and can often be seen around street lamps or other lights. This photograph resulted from an experiment in which the camera automatically recorded whatever came into range on a warm Texas evening. It appears very alien to me, and I love the body attitude as it flies toward the camera.



red Ichneumon Wasp (Ichneumonidae)

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.

A Goofy Looking Insect - The White-Headed Fly (Archytas apicifer)

Insects are almost always interesting in one way or another – at least for me. It is not lost on me that many people find the crawling, flying and creeping denizens of the insect world creepy if not completely revolting.


Nonetheless, it is rare that an insect makes me laugh. This little white-headed fly seems to have an abundance of personality simply because it has a face that can be anthropomorphized – an unusual occurrence in the world of diptera (flies)












white-headed fly (Archytas apicifer)

Phorid Fly (Pseudacteon obtusus)

As I mentioned in the previous post, imported red fire ants were introduced to the southern U.S. accidentally in the 1930's. They have no natural predators to keep their populations under control.

However the Fire Ant Project at the University of Texas is releasing the fire ant's natural predator from Brazil - the tiny phorid fly – into the areas around Austin and Dallas. There are several species, but they all parasitize the fire ant in a terrifying process that involves eating the ant's brain (from the inside) by a larva implanted by the phorid fly.

imported red fire ant (solenopsis invicta)

The ants, despite being raised in North America where they have no predators, appear to have a instinctive fear of the fly. They respond with a panicked, defensive action that is usually ineffective.

Phorid Fly (Pseudacteon obtusus) hovering above imported red fire ants.

The fly picks an ant that would make a good host, and then hovers above looking for a good moment. When opportunity allows, it will drop suddenly and stab the ant with its ovipositor and implant a single egg. When the egg hatches, it makes its way to the brain and larva will devour the ant's brain until it dies or its head falls off. Nice huh?

Euphoria Beetle (euphoria fulgida)

More than once, I have been startled by these colorful beetles. They fly with a noisy clack of the wings that at first, mimics the buzz of an angry bumble bee...



euphoria beetle (euphoria fulgida) collecting nectar from a thistle flower


euphoria beetle (euphoria fulgida) in flight


euphoria beetle (euphoria fulgida)

Northern Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora)

Frogs Continued...

Northern Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora)

Except this is a frog native to the Northwest. This species comes in a variety of colors (see above, a different individual photographed in spring), and they are noted for the red tinted legs. However, they are occasionally red all over such as this beautiful female...



Northern Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora)

As it is with many native frogs in the west, northern red-legged frogs are not competing well with imported bull frogs. They are slowly disappearing from their traditional habitats.



jumping Northern Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora)


Northern Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora)

Bat Skeleton

I photographed this bat skeleton some time ago, but the image sat in my cataloging folder until I could get the post processing done.

Bats are such delicate creatures, and yet so beautifully put together. Their evolution is slowly being revealed by the fossil record and genetics.



I was hoping to illustrate the delicate nature of the skeleton, and yet show the dynamic flexibility of a flying mammal. I'm not so sure I was successful, and the tiny wing bones made the whole process very challenging. It will have to do for now.



This bat is a different species than the skeleton, but has a similar build. No matter what I tried, I could not come close to the elegance of a live flying bat that is shown here.

Red Saddlebags Dragonfly (Tramea onusta)

These dragonflies are deceptive in flight. When I first spied one at the Brackenridge Field Lab, I didn't recognize it as a dragonfly until I got a second look. The curious red markings on the wings make it look like a large fly with red wings until the transparent part of the wings are perceived – then suddenly a dragonfly appears.



This quality is not immediately apparent in this image, but place one against a bright blue Texas sky and your eyes can be fooled. This photo took all day to get.

Slideshow: high-speed bugs

Photoshelter, the photo host for my web site, continues to add value to their services. With some new fancy code, it is possible to embed slideshows from my galleries just about anywhere.

Pretty cool.

Rainy Days

I'm still here. My schedule has been a little bit insane, and I managed to drop the ball on a few things including posting images here. Not for lack of shooting however.

The weather in Oregon has been blustery and wet, and I have been stuck indoors - but I still managed to have fun with water and the high-speed camera.



Once I get the going it is hard to stop.







I have lots more to share. Stay tuned... If you want to see truly amazing photos with water check out my friend Martin Waugh's work www.liquidsculpture.com