This summer has come with an extra side of hot sauce, that’s for sure. Another weekend of 100+ heat index on a trail with very little shade. When it is this hot I carry 2.5L of water and take advantage of what shade I can find. I also tend not to spend as much time in any one spot as I might otherwise do. Which is too bad because on this day I came across a patch of Cylindrical Blazing Star being tended by a couple dozen Swallowtail butterflies. In milder weather I likely would have spent a good 15 to 20 minutes in that area taking photos.
I was out on the West Beach trail system on this day, which is composed of 3 separate trails that all connect at the main parking lot. One of the trails involves climbing up and down almost 300 steps… I decided to bypass that particular loop on this very hot day however, and went with a flatter one instead.It was just past all those stairs that I came upon the Swallowtails. Often times when I encounter these butterflies they will periodically rest for a minute or so which gives me time to setup for a good shot. On this day however they were all in constant motion. I could have gotten frustrated over not being able to get clear and sharply focused photographs. Instead I quickly decided to go with what Nature was giving me on this day and just lean into the motion blur theme. I ended up getting a number of interesting abstract images and this has inspired me to work on developing this technique.
I did get a few images where the butterfly was in focus with a high enough shutter speed to freeze its motion, but those were more happy accidents than anything else. I was using my manual focus lens which made accurate tracking almost impossible. But it was fun to try.There’s always more than just butterflies to be found on the trail. I like simple arrangements like this, where there is good separation between the subject and the background. It was the burnt orange color and the tight clustering of the leaves which caught my attention for this shot. At the time I did not see the two grasshoppers which blend in so nicely with the leaves. It is not uncommon to find little surprises like this when reviewing my images. If I had noticed them at the time I probably would have put the focus right on them. But as is, I kinda like that they are just outside of the focal plane which emphasizes the fact that it is not to their advantage to stand out and be easily seen.This time I did not miss the Grass Hopper on the leaf. Though in this case it did not blend in nearly as well.I like to check for Crab spiders on the yellow petals of asters. This time I found a little jumping spider that was keeping a very close eye on me, multiple eyes to be precise.This view shows the length of what was once known as Long Lake. It was a lake at one time, but now it alternates between being covered by up to a few feet of water, to this.When Long Lake dries out you are able to see the channels which have been created by beavers. These days the beavers do not have many natural predators to worry about and they have become a nuisance.This was one of my last images of the day. This leaf was just floating about 5ft off the ground. It was caught in very faint spider web that spanned at least 6 feet. It ran from an overhead branch all the way down to the ground. That is what I call one industrious spider!
Even when it is so hot and humid that you know you will be miserably uncomfortable all day, it is still worth going out because it is guaranteed that you will find many wondrous things that make it well worth the effort. Nature simply never disappoints.
Like probably most kids I was not particularly fond of spiders, wasps and other insects that bite or sting. But the more time I spend hiking and photographing insects and wild flowers, the more I have come to appreciate them. As with most things in nature, so long as you are respectful and do not antagonize them, they really have no interest in bothering you at all. I have grown quite comfortable getting close enough to take photos like these. All of these creatures have good eyesight and they definitely notice you, but so far I have not been even so much as buzzed by a bee or wasp while taking its photograph.
Speaking of wasps, this is a Potter Wasp. Their incredibly thin waist just does not look like it should be able to hold the front and back halves together. Potter Wasps are solitary, they do not typically form colonies. Adults feed on nectar as this one is doing.Another Potter Wasp with it’s characteristically thin waist. While the adults may feed on nectar, their larvae feed on other insects like caterpillars which the adults paralyze and lay their eggs in. Sounds pretty brutal, but that’s just how nature rolls.Another type of wasp is the Paper Wasp. Unlike Potter Wasps, these are social and work together to build nests. Each cell in a nest like this one will house one larvae. Paper Wasps can be very aggressive when they feel like their nest is being threatened. Each wasp can sting multiple times and they will pursue those who anger them.Then of course you have one of my personal favorites, the Crab spider. Ambush predators with an amazing ability to blend into their flower.I guess I am becoming attuned to spotting insects that ambush other insects. This guy caught my attention quite easily. First time I’ve ever noticed one of them, it was just down the trail from the Crab spider eating a Hoverfly pictured above. It was not difficult to ID and it turns out to be a Jagged Ambush Bug, of the family known as Assassin Bugs! They are pretty much literally the bug equivalent to the Crab spider. Like Crab spiders they are able to change their color to blend in with their flower of choice, and they simply wait motionless for something to wander within reach of those pop-eye like front claws. Then just like a Crab spider it lunges, grabs its prey and delivers a paralyzing bite.
I never get tired of discovering new things while out hiking and photographing in the Dunes.
