Saturday, July 22, 2017

I love bugs, well...

I love to photograph bugs as a fun experiment.

The neighbor kids do a 4H project and collect bugs. Last year I started to take an larger interest in bugs I could find around our farm. I was so surprised to find that I really don't know my insects!

What a beautiful colored grasshopper right?
No!
Fork Tailed Bush Katydid!

This beautiful creature was on my Gerbera daisy plant on the porch.

 I found this the other morning while watching the sunrise. The flower is a Woodland Sunflower and they grow wild in the ditches.

The exotic looking creature is a Goldenrod Crab Spider. Apparently they blend into the plant and eat other insects such as wasps! I am thinking that I could love this gorgeous spider!

A spider I found on the porch last year is one of my favorites.


I had help identifying this one from another photographer friend who really digs spiders.
Basilica Orbweaver.

Milkweed plants and flowers are great places for 'bugs'.
I'm not sure what the insects are in this shot, but I think the insect in the bottom of the photo was dead and the insect in the top of the photo was going to eat it!
I didn't realize this until I was reviewing the shots later.


I am pretty new to the insect world. I mean I a novice yet at trying to figure out what they are and what they do.
I find them quite interesting.

Milkweed plant with Japanese Beetle. Beautiful colored insect, but an invasive species!


My vegetable garden is another great place. Although after looking the following insects up, I guess I should be aware also of what they feed on and destroy.

This is by far one of the prettiest little bugs I've ever seen. It is called the Candy Stripped Leaf Hopper. Apparently they like to eat the leaves of sunflowers, I guess they actually suck the juices out of the leaves and can do some damage.
I let it be at the time as I am still squeamish about picking up insects.


I found this Helmet Squash Bug on my sunflowers also. The squash plants in the garden make their way through my sweet corn and sunflowers.


This insect is in the Stinkbug family. There appears to be another insect on the squash bug.
When I moved around to look at the other side I saw that two bugs were attached.
Um.
I think I don't have to explain what they were doing.


And just near the house on some Queen Anne's Lace I found these ants scurrying up and down the flower.


These flowers are quite fragrant, however I was curious as to why the ants would be all over it like they are on my Peonies in the spring.
Apparently there are aphids that feed on the Queen Anne's Lace and the ants are hunting the aphids.

Bugs or creeply crawly things...Insects.
They are pretty cool.


2 comments:

  1. Those are beautiful pictures! I like bugs too! Even though I like bugs, I have been waging a war on the potato bugs, but I do admire their beauty just before I squash them!! They also lay beautiful golden-colored eggs, which I also squash!

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  2. I think as a kid we were sent out with buckets of soapy water to collect potato bugs for my grandparents. It was a contest to see who got the most. My grandparents were smart in their wars on bugs!

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