An Assassin Bug

While Aidan was enjoying a supervised visit to the Secret Garden, I noticed a surprising insect.  With the camera just inside the door, and the bug moving slowly, I was able to get a number of great shots.  

This is an Arilus cristatis, commonly know as a Wheel Bug.  At 1.5 inches long, it is the largest true bug.  It is one of the assassin bugs because it feeds on all other kinds of insects. You can see the flowers of the Osmanthus bush on the side.  I suspect the Wheel bug was waiting for bees to come so it could have a meal.

This angle shows the characteristic spokes of the "wheel" behind its head.  Just below the antennae, the beak is visible, bent back toward the body.  It uses this beak to pierce the shells of other insects or caterpillars, with one tube to inject digestive fluids, and a second tube used to suck out all those goodies.  A truly Halloween worthy bug!

An October visitor

 

It is interesting how different flowers attract different butterflies.  This appears to be a Cloudless Sulphur butterfly sipping deeply on the scarlet flowers of the Pineapple Sage.  

This sage has only just begun to bloom; it had me wondering if it would ever bloom, had fooled me, and was really a weed.  They are an annual, and this self-seeded in a flower bed at least 20 feet away from the original one.

The cooler weather makes these smaller butterflies a bit slower on the wing.

September and Early October Visitors

There have been few new varieties arriving in September, and a diminishing number of butterflies as the temperature have been cooling into October.

This Variegated Fritillary arrived a few weeks ago, finally settling down so I could get this clear shot of its dorsal view.  Yet, this is the only one of these that I have seen.

Here is another kind of Grass Skipper.  I believe it is a Sachem, but not completely sure of that.  I have a picture of another Skipper, but have been unable to clearly identify what kind it is.  There are a lot of varieties, and many are very close in appearance.

Here is an Orange Sulphur.  This little fellow is very mobile, stopping for very short times to feed while flying over wide areas for a few minutes at a time.  I found myself running back and forth chasing it around the yard.  

There is another, brighter yellow, small butterfly that has so far evaded my camera.  Maybe with cooler weather it will slow down?

The Elusive Monarch Butterfly

After a number of attempts, I was finally able to get the solitary Monarch butterfly that has been showing up.  At least I assume it is the same one.  This one has an identifying feature I can check on future shots; its left antennae is missing.  I hope to see many more of these over the next several weeks.

Here is another shot of a Skipper.  I am pretty sure it is a Fiery Skipper, which I have seen earlier.  I am very excited to see the amount of detail in this perfectly focused photo.  It speaks to the impressive quality of the camera lens and its auto focus capabilities which are put to the est for all of the moving insect shots.

Magnolia, Wasp and Nursery

 

The 'Little Gem' Magnolia continues to bloom through the summer.  Most of them are far above my height, but this one is within reach.  The shape of its inner parts continues through to the seed pods that drop all over.  Aidan has decided that they are great fun for chewing, while I fear he will swallow one.

On the other side of the yard a Great Black Wasp is busy collecting nectar from the cat mint, Calamintha nepeta "Monrose White'.  They are nectar and pollen eaters.  I often see these among the flowers, and am pleased to learn that they are quite beneficial.  They burrow in the soil and lay their eggs next to a cricket, grasshopper or Katydid carcass, keeping those chewers under control.  

Earlier I had a picture of the caterpillar for a Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly.  If you look closely you will find at least four of them in this picture.  At the top is a very large one chewing on a Aristolochia fimbriata (White Veined Dutchman’s Pipe) leaf.  Stupid me, I had not made the connection between the vine and the butterfly!  This is their favored food, and the flowerbed is full of the vines.  Therefore, I keep seeing lots of these beautiful swallowtails in the garden.  And the vines are still growing, though not as large as usual.

Ongoing Search

 

The search for new varieties of butterflies continues.  This appears to be a Great Spangled Fritillary based on the pictures of the top of the wings, and the underside of the wings, as seen below.

I have waited a few days before putting up these photos, hoping I could get a clearer picture of the top of the wings.  But this is the only one that I have been able to get on the camera.

I have seen one other orange butterfly, which I believe was a Monarch.  However, it quickly moved through the garden, and was gone by the time I got back with the camera.  Often the Monarch butterflies return in the autumn on their migration back South.  I have milkweed plants waiting their arrival.

Finally, here is one of many Praying Mantises standing guard in hopes of catching one of the dwindling number of butterflies.

Proboscis in Action

 

One of the tricks the Olympus OM-D Mark III is shooting a sequence of fast shots.  The camera will catch a series of moments without the human eye/response needing to trip the shutter at the perfect time.  

Here a Fiery Skipper is unrolling its proboscis to feed on the nectar of the Verbena bonariensis.  The first shot shows it rolled up in a tight spiral.

It starts uncurling the proboscis.

Further and further out.

Finally into the tiny flower for the precious nectar.

Butterfiles and Spiders

 

I recently traded in my beloved Nikon camera and three lenses for a partial payment on a new Olympus 12-100mm Pro
Zoom lens for the OM-D E-M1 Mark III.  As I experiment with the new lens, I am also quickly settling into how it works.

I am moving on to the smaller butterflies, much easier to get with the wide zoom range and crystal clear lens.  This is a Salt Marsh Skipper, only about an inch long.  I actually confirmed its correct name with a different shot, but this is the best portrait.

I call this my Menage a Trois picture.  The two Fiery Skippers on the left were literally hooked up, doing their thing when the third Skipper started to attack them.  The attacker appears to be a male, going after the other male on the right side. Maybe butterflies get jealous? 

This Argiope aurantia spider has many common names, as simple as Yellow Garden Spider and can be found across North and Central America.  This one has captured a Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly in its web under the tree in the middle of the labyrinth.  There were also other prey in its sprawling web.  Enjoying nature is not for the soft hearted.

More Butterflies

This is an adult Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly.  A few posts earlier I put up the photo of one of these caterpillars.  It has been difficult to get a shot of the iridescent blue on the wings because they are constantly moving.  They like both the Verbena bonariensis and the Agapanthus flowers.

There are also many Zebra Swallowtails, which prefer the verbena over the Agapanthus.   Many of these are smaller than the other Swallowtails. 

 

Finally there are the Sleepy Orange butterflies which hang out on the Zinnias.  I don't know why they are called "sleepy" because when they are flying they move very fast.  I cannot get a picture of them with their wings open.  But then my reference website to identify Maryland butterflies only has this kind of shot.

I am still trying to get a few others flying around.

Maryland Butterflies

 

There have been a flurry of butterflies in the labyrinth.  My neighbors are noticing!  The clusters of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails feeding on the Agapanthis do catch the eye.  When I went out with my camera, I saw a hummingbird hanging out on the opposite side of this group, but it slipped away.

A close look at one of those yellow beauties lets me see how well my new camera focuses.  Of course I am not going to tell how many pictures were not focused where I wanted.  That is an operator error that I hope to get fixed very soon.

There are other swallowtails enjoying the long tubed flowers, such as this Spicebush Swallowtail.  While the top of the wings are very somber, the underside has dramatic orange spots that make it easy to identify.

Moving over to the Millenium Allium are some of the smaller winged creatures.  This is a Common Buckeye, with those very distinctive false eyes to confuse their predators.

The Hackberry Emperor is also enjoying the Allium flowers.  His underbelly is white, as are his legs which are partially visible in the flowers.

The Silver Spotted Skipper is enjoying the nectar of the Verbena.  This little guy kept his wings folded up so I could not see the top of them.  But that white spot is pretty distinctive.

I will watch to see how many others I can catch with my camera