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.

Autumn Insects

These insect pictures all date back to September, so I must apologize for the delay, but they are too good to leave out.

Here is a Monarch Butterfly enjoying the Verbena Bonariensis, which attracts a large variety of insects.  Usually there are many Monarchs coming through the garden, but this was one of the few in 2012.

After a good bit of research, I determined that this is a Sphex wasp.  There are quite a variety of them, so I could not determine the exact species, but the black body and extremely thin waist is characteristic. 

I have seen these on a variety of the more intensely scented plants, such as the oregano growing at the front porch.  This one is on the Calamintha nepeta, or Catmint, which I bought from Plant Delights Nursery two years ago.  I had heard that they can spread around a lot, but I have not had that problem with this one,  It has stayed in its place, and blooms heavily from early summer through September.  It is always covered with insects eating the nectar.   

Also on the Catmint were many delightful Lightning Bugs.  I spent a lot of time checking this fellow against various identifying sources to be sure I got it right.  It is funny, for all the years of catching these in jars a a child, I though I knew how they looked, but without waiting until night, wasn't sure.

Who know they lived on the nectar of flowers, though it certainly makes sense!

 

The final shot is of a spider, the Argiope Aurantia, which has been a part of my gardens for years.  They build such large webs, and the zigzag that is visible below it is characteristic of these creatures.  I have always respected them, left them alone to catch whatever they can. 

I wonder where they go once the air gets cold, and everything has hfound a place to spend the next few months until the return of the warmth?