Sunday Stills: Numbers

Some egg customers came today and while we were chatting said they had never seen a baby walking stick before. They were staring right at me, and it seemed non sequitur. I said I had never seen a baby one before either, why do you bring this up? Because there was one walking on me! So I grabbed the camera and took this shot, realizing later it would count as a numbers shot. I think it's cool how you can see my other hand and camera reflected in the watch band.

After the photoshoot, I had her sign a model release form, then released her safely into the flowerbed.

For more numbers shots visit Sunday Stills!

Macro Monday: Best Shots of 2009

Since we just did our favorite Sunday Stills shots, I thought I'd pick my two best 2009 macro shots from Macro Monday.

This Mottled Tortise Beetle, Deloyala guttata, shot back in September is something I'd never seen before. It's always cool when nature can surprise you in your own backyard. I am still amazed by the 'windshields' of its wings and the metallic designs. I love the textures and details of these.

There are more than 800,000 species of insects on Earth--more than all the other plants and animals combined. Of this great number of insects, nearly half are beetles. When naturalist and entymologist E.O Wilson was once asked what he knew about God, he answered the only thing he knew was that God was inordinately fond of beetles.

My second favorite was this Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor, photographed in November. There is nothing in our landscape so stunning as the blue of this butterfly.

Probably the best thing about these shots were being in the right place at the right moment and having the camera with me!

Visit Macro Monday for more up-close images!

Macro Monday: A Ferris Wheel for Ants

This is Asclepias asperula, Antelope Horns, one of my favorite milkweeds. I love how the flowers look like green snowballs. The common name comes from the shape of its seedpods, which I featured in a previous post.

For more up close views of the world visit Macro Monday!

Macro Monday: Scoliid Wasp

This Digging or Blue-Winged Wasp (Scolia dubia) is a beneficial insect in my lawn and garden, as it is a natural control agent for the destructive grubs of the June Bug (Beetle). Here, the female is feeding on the wildflower Frostweed (Verbesina virginica) which I let grow among the vegetable beds to attract pollinators.

They will not sting unless greatly aggravated. Soon she will burrow into the soil to spend the nights, and eventually will sting and paralyze a grub onto which she will lay her eggs. Although I have not yet seen it, Scoliid wasps are said to fly just a few inches above ground infested with grubs in a loose figure-eight pattern.

As a naturalist, I have a confession to make. Although I don't mind beetles, and I practice kindness towards most insects, their grubs just give me the willies. I would much rather hold a snake than a grub! When I find one in the garden, I use a trowel to toss it onto the path in hopes a bird or chicken will find it for a snack!

To see more of the world up close, visit Macro Monday!

Sunday Stills: Signs of Fall

Living so close to Mexico as I do, we won't be seeing too many signs of fall until October or even November. Mostly we are feeling the signs of fall. After an abnormally hot summer, with three entire months of temperatures between 103-110, having 80 degrees at noon feels rather pleasant!

So instead, I will show you some signs of September color where I live. Your life has probably been touched by this stuff, and you never knew about it. This is the time of year that the female Cochineal insect (Dactylopius coccus) lays a white fluffy substance containing larvae on the pads of our Prickly Pear  Cactus (Opuntia sp.).

When this white fluff is collected...

...and crushed...

...it produces a natural red dye that is more stable than synthetic colors. The Cochineal is native to South America and Mexico (and obviously this part of Texas which once belonged to Mexico). Cochineal dye was used by the Aztecs and Mayas, and once was the second largest commodity after silver exported from Mexico. The Navajos still use it to dye wool red for their rugs.

After the Spanish conquest, it was exported to Europe, and even was so valuable as to be quoted regularly on the London and Amsterdam Commodities Exchange.

England, wanting to control their own source for the coloring, transplanted it from Brazil to Australia in 1787. Can you guess the use for which the British wanted it?

That's right...there would have been no Red Coats without this little insect and its white fluff.

Chances are very high that you've worn and consumed this insect in your daily life! It is currently used in both the food and cosmetic industry. You'll see it listed as carminic acid, red color E120, and carmine. It's found in alcohol and soft drinks, meats, cheeses, pastries, jams, lipstick, blush, face powder, eyeshadow, hair coloring, oil paint, water colors just to name a few.

Each year people consume an estimated 1-2 drops with their food. This could be of concern if you are vegetarian, vegan, Jewish, or Muslim. Don't like the idea of consuming crushed insect larvae? A new U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulation will require all foods and cosmetics containing cochineal to declare it on their ingredient labels as of January 5, 2011. Still, with cochineal red being one of the safest colorants, I kind of doubt there will be much information letting people know its source.

For some classic signs of fall, visit Sunday Stills!

Macro Monday: UFO

Please click to biggify!

This is perhaps the most unusual insect I have ever seen! It was on a morning glory leaf in the garden yesterday and could fit on the head of a pencil eraser. If you look closely, it's actually disk shaped with a transparent "windshield" over its head and "windows" on the sides completing the oval.

The beautiful metallic patterns caught my eye as they reflected in the sun. It was shy, and I chased it around the leaf taking dozens of photos just to get one with clarity. Finally it got tired of my intrusion and, to my surprise, flew away!

If anyone knows what this is, please tell!

n.b. My naturalist friend Bob B. in Arizona was able to identify this as Deloyala guttata, a Mottled Tortise Beetle. Thanks Bob!

For more up close images, visit Macro Monday!

Macro Monday: Mud Daubers Nest

This is the nest of an organ-pipe mud dauber, a slender, non-aggressive wasp that preys on our black widow spiders. I'm happy to have them around. The nest is made out of local mud by the female who molds it into place with her mandibles.

I thought it was interesting that this one--attached to our house--was made with two colors of mud. I like the organic texture of it and think I'd rather live in a space without corners myself.

For more up close shots visit Macro Monday!

Sunday Stills: Things with Wings

This week's photography challenge was wings. I have been working on my own challenge of color manipulating backgrounds without altering the colors of the subject.

Here is the winged stem of Frostweed, Verbesina virginica. It gets its common name from the fact that in the winter when it freezes the dead stems will split and curly shavings of ice will extrude out. They live in colonies in the understory of our creek and serve as butterfly cafes when blooming. You can see a photo of one in bloom with a butterfly at this older post.

I think Borage is one of the most intensely beautiful blue flowers in the herb garden. After we finished picking blackberries yesterday (see previous post) I caught these ladybugs enjoying them too. There is a folktale that if you float these flowers in the drink of a man you like he will ask you to marry him.

This is a Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor, so perfect it must have just emerged from its chrysalis to sun itself. The bitterness of its host plant--Pipevine--makes it unpalatable to birds.

Check out more interpretations of wings at Sunday Stills.

Surprise!

This morning I went out to fill the bird feeder and when I reached up under the squirrel guard...

I was introduced to some new residents who didn't like my intrusion.

Fortunately I was only stung once on my ring finger, which now looks like a small sausage. Unlike the bee, yellow jackets are capable of stinging many times, so I count this as a warning.

I am pretty lenient in letting nature's creatures set up house where ever they want outside. Predatory wasps kill a lot of bad bugs and help in pollination. Often times they will recognize the human inhabitants as they come and go and leave them alone (but beware the visitor!) However, in this case, I must reach under here every day to fill the feeder, so unfortunately this nest will need to be removed. By Farmer Rick.

Easy for You to Say

Today I came across this bright orange Large Milkweed Bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus, on the ripening pods of Antelope Horns, Asclepias asperula. He was extremely shy after this first shot and I kept chasing him around the plant--on my knees in a wet ditch--but this was the best one, with him smack dab in the middle of the frame. To crop would be to lose the pod and the image is really about their relationship. Maybe tomorrow he'll warm up to me and go about his business as I go about mine.

Some Tuesday Farm Photos

You may be getting tired of all my chicken posts, so for a break today I've taken some pretty pics around the farm.

Here's a native Lantana, Lantana horrida, blossom about to open. The bright orange reminds me--the Hooded Oriole and his gal have shown up at the feeder for the second year in a row. They are so bold to clack clack at me from atop the seed feeder in front of my computer when they are out of sugar water. Service please!

I saw a Painted Bunting and an Easter Bronze-headed Cowbird (they have scary red eyes!) at the this feeder yesterday. Too bad I had to shoot through a screen.



And some interesting insects on a Yucca constricta blooming in the prairie. I love how architectural this bug looks. It was very shy and kept moving around to avoid the camera lens. I wonder how it's shape, especially the leg protrusions, help it perform its daily tasks?

Sunlight through a "Bright Lights" Swiss Chard leaf in the garden, reminds me of the delicious meals of it we will soon be having.

And You Thought Your Job Was Tough

Today in cleaning out Teddy Bird's house (the Chickens With Disabilities Unit) I noticed I had some helpers in keeping things tidy.



These dung beetles are known as "rollers" (as opposed to "tunnelers" and "dwellers") as this is what they do with their treasure. Dung beetles can roll up to 50 times their weight. By consuming and burying dung, they keep the ground clean around our animals, and help fertilize the soil, thus helping out the garden. They also provide an excellent model for determination!