Show your Bugs and Critters

[Mad Mac]

I've also read that if a hummingbird feeder is moved three feet
the wasps will not be able to find it.
Which just proves that I have the brain of a wasp.

[Manixguy@1994]

Life of the party ! Late yesterday I actually found both frogs sitting in water between a twelve inch boulder . They have been usually been sitting at each end of pond .

[troutinCO]

Frogs are super cool!

[troutinCO]

Saw this guy frolicking in this flower while I was on my hike yesterday.

[troutinCO]

Yeah twelve would be a lot to maintain, especially in the heat when they need frequent water changes. It’s difficult to get good photos of them with a phone, because they’re often so skittish.

Some of the hummingbirds here have gotten fairly comfortable feeding though and will feed around people. They’re very intelligent birds. I personally haven’t tried to get any photos with my good camera yet but maybe I’ll try that soon.

While we’re on the topic of hummingbirds, I actually took a photo of a hummingbird while I was hiking one of the trails at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre in Colorado.

To this day it’s one of my top favorite photos I’ve ever taken

Awesome photo, one of my favorite birds to just watch and listen to.

[Manixguy@1994]

we,have an occasional Yellow Jacket buzz near us and always have a swatter handy .The wife got this one this afternoon with in minutes this ant grabbed hold of it and and dragged it on the patio pad by itself a good 25 feet before disappearing into the grass . I guess it is insect swat kill ! Dan

[Mushroom]

Yeah twelve would be a lot to maintain, especially in the heat when they need frequent water changes. It’s difficult to get good photos of them with a phone, because they’re often so skittish.

Some of the hummingbirds here have gotten fairly comfortable feeding though and will feed around people. They’re very intelligent birds. I personally haven’t tried to get any photos with my good camera yet but maybe I’ll try that soon.

While we’re on the topic of hummingbirds, I actually took a photo of a hummingbird while I was hiking one of the trails at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre in Colorado.

To this day it’s one of my top favorite photos I’ve ever taken

Awesome photo, one of my favorite birds to just watch and listen to.

Thank you! And I agree, they’re fascinating birds to observe. Sometimes when I’m sitting outside with my back to the feeder, I can tell they’re feeding because I can hear their wings humming.

[Manixguy@1994]

Years ago my wife was sitting on my work bench talking to me when a Hummingbird flew through the garage and crashed into the large sliding window screen behind the bench and fell between us . I picked it up and stroked its head and the bird slowly started to come around so took it to our deck and put it on the railing by three of our twelve feeders . We watched from patio as the Hummingbird finally stood , looked around and flew off . Holding the bird in my palm was like having nothing in hand . Magical moment .

[RustyIron]

Here's a couple for you.
I took several lizard shots on Sunday. None were great, but this one is ok. They were acting like jerks. If they were in good light, I couldn't get close enough. The only time they would hold still was in partial shadows.

This is a jimson weed flower was the subject of the photograph. It wasn't until after I got home that I noticed the little beetle photobomber. You'll have to zoom in to see her.

[Manixguy@1994]

Here's a couple for you.
I took several lizard shots on Sunday. None were great, but this one is ok. They were acting like jerks. If they were in good light, I couldn't get close enough. The only time they would hold still was in partial shadows.


IMG_7245.jpeg


This is a jimson weed flower was the subject of the photograph. It wasn't until after I got home that I noticed the little beetle photobomber. You'll have to zoom in to see her.

IMG_7251.jpeg

Still great shot to me , I like Bee shots but can be difficult to time . Thank you for sharing ! MG2

[Manixguy@1994]

Another Ant in action.

[RustyIron]

Still great shot to me , I like Bee shots but can be difficult to time . Thank you for sharing ! MG2

When I shoot bees, I might shoot a couple dozen before I get bored. Out of those, I'm lucky to get one or two good shots.

Did I tell you my bee story from a couple months ago? Prolly not...
Three of us were riding up in the mountains. Up at the top there was a road that was semi-accessible from the other side, and we ran across a flatbed truck loaded with hives. I chatted the guy up because such things fascinate me. Despite a substantial language barrier, I learned a bit about their process. As we were parting ways, the guy told us to stop, and he pulled out three quart jars with honey.

I know they weren't centrifuging honeycomb up on the mountain, so I assume this is just the drippins that they get when they harvest the hives. This stuff is DELICIOUS. It has somewhat of a fruit punch character, and wasn't cloying, like orange or clover. I buy local honey in the flatlands, but it's NOTHING compared to this stuff that's straight out of the hive. I assume the honey is predominantly sage, as the hillsides were purple when we were up there.

[Manixguy@1994]

Still great shot to me , I like Bee shots but can be difficult to time . Thank you for sharing ! MG2

When I shoot bees, I might shoot a couple dozen before I get bored. Out of those, I'm lucky to get one or two good shots.

Did I tell you my bee story from a couple months ago? Prolly not...
Three of us were riding up in the mountains. Up at the top there was a road that was semi-accessible from the other side, and we ran across a flatbed truck loaded with hives. I chatted the guy up because such things fascinate me. Despite a substantial language barrier, I learned a bit about their process. As we were parting ways, the guy told us to stop, and he pulled out three quart jars with honey.

I know they weren't centrifuging honeycomb up on the mountain, so I assume this is just the drippins that they get when they harvest the hives. This stuff is DELICIOUS. It has somewhat of a fruit punch character, and wasn't cloying, like orange or clover. I buy local honey in the flatlands, but it's NOTHING compared to this stuff that's straight out of the hive. I assume the honey is predominantly sage, as the hillsides were purple when we were up there.

Local honey health wise ( you probably know ) is the best for you health wise . In our small town we had two guys that jarred honey . One of them was our brother-in-law. We always had plenty of free honey for years until they moved to Indiana. When I was very young while hunting we took a break and I sat and leaned against an old dead small tree . When I leaned against the trunk broke and split and bees flew out and immediately died in the cold winter air . The trunk inside was full of honey combs mostly frozen which we took home . The wild honey was very dark and strong which everyone liked . We had a swarm in our Maple a few years ago it was fun to watch . Once a scout found a suitable spot for a nest , they were all gone in less than a minutes.Dan

[Mad Mac]

Bobcat exploring corral trap late of an afternoon, November 2015.
Of thousands of game camera pictures
taken over the course of ten years
this is a favorite.

[Manixguy@1994]

Great shot , I have only seen one once in the Shawnee National Forest . Dan

[Manixguy@1994]

Trail cam shot after Deer season where I will be hunting this year . Rack and and body should be bigger , Iwill be very lucky to see him . He may be a rogue . Dan

[troutinCO]

All this bee talk....Just got back from my walk around the Office hood. Pass by this bush often, it was REALLY busy today. This is the only shot that was good from my phone. But it caught both a Bumblebee and Honeybee in action. They were all over the bush going to town on it.

[Mad Mac]

Some things are seasonal whereas others are cyclical,
locusts, acorns and army worms for example.
In 2010, it snowed here, a rare event,
and then began a drought that went into 2011.
For whatever the reason,
we had a bumper crop of cactus flowers, May 2010.
This bee is enjoying one of them.

[Manixguy@1994]

So beautiful! Dan

[Manixguy@1994]

Took this shot right before take off , my timing was off .