Of Dragons & Flies

A Dragonfly rest momentarily on a stalk of grass

This morning I spent a considerable amount of time on the lake attempting to capture a Dragonfly in flight. Dragonflies are masters of fast flight and instantaneous directional change. Although I shot quite a bit, none of the images were of the quality I desired.

This evening while checking one of our hay fields which lies near the creek, I came upon this obliging subject.

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Hummingbird Clear-Wing Moth, A Sharper View

Earlier I posted a shot of the Hummingbird Moth showing its long proboscis curled up in the flight position. I chose that shot to show the proboscis even though the shot lacked the crisp sharpness that I would have preferred.

Today I share with you the very best shot I obtained in this session. I am particularly fond of this shot because of both excellent subject sharpness & detail along with the beautiful background provided by the lilac bush.

Hummingbird Moth

A close-up of a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth reveals the long proboscis curled up into a convenient travel position.

Today as I followed some yellow and black swallowtail butterflies around our lilac bush I encountered this interesting little moth. It showed a clear preference for the shaded areas which made it difficult to obtain correct exposure while using a shutter speed fast enough to capture the image. Finally I settled on ISO 800 and captured this image at 1/640th of a second with an aperture of F5.6 and a 400mm focal length.

Grasshopper

This large grasshopper watched cautiously as I captured her image. The grasshopper is so heavy with eggs that it was difficult for her to jump let alone fly.

Butterfly Hunting

A great late summer sport is butterfly hunting. Equipment requirements can be as simple as a close focusing Point & Shoot to as extravagant as a DSLR, tripod and a good 100mm+ macro lens. Butterfly hunting as those of you who have done it know, is not without challenge. I seems as if just when I have completed the setup and composed the photograph, my little friend has an immediate and urgent need to check another blossom or to leave the area altogether.

I think this is Clouded Sulphur Butterfly but if I am wrong I will be glad to stand corrected

Gypsy Moths, The Conclusion

The Gypsy Moths are finishing their life cycle. The caterpillars are gone, having metamorphosed into adult moths. I captured this male while he was resting.

A female depositing her eggs

Many females busily laying eggs are visible in this photograph. Near the bottom a male searching for a mate can be seen. With the large number of egg cases being deposited the outlook for next year appears bleak.

Gypsy Update

The carnage of the Gypsy Moths continues unabated. As the caterpillars near the end of the feeding cycle they are consuming every last piece of greenery available. In some areas hundreds of acres have been defoliated while other nearby areas are nearly untouched.

In areas of large infestations the devastation is complete and the caterpillars are on the move. In this photo one can observe the stain on the asphalt were untold numbers of caterpillars have been crushed by passing automobiles.

The Invasive Gypsies

The forests of south-central Pennsylvania are rapidly changing from lush green to somber browns and grays. As we approach summer the foliage is disappearing at an alarming rate

A closer look discloses branches as barren as in winter

The culprit is the Gypsy Moth, or rather untold millions of them

A Gypsy Moth egg case, promises more problems in the coming year


The Gypsy Moth was brought to America in the 1800’s by a French scientist who was attempting to cross them with the silk worm to develop an American silk trade. Sadly he did not know that his cross breeding was bound for failure. Whereas the silkworm spins a cocoon, the gypsy moth undergoes metamorphous in a chrysalis. A few of his worms escaped. Soon the scourge of the gypsy moth began.

DDT was used in an attempt to wipe out this forest pest but even this powerful insecticide was only able to control their numbers and slow the spread. The ban on DDT removed the most effective weapon from the gypsy moth control arsenal. Currently spraying with BT (bacillus thuringiensis) only serves to moderately slow their advance.

Our first outbreak of gypsy moths occurred in the mid 1980’s. After a few years of nearly complete defoliation the majority of our oak forest died. This in turn allowed sunlight to penetrate to the forest floor. New growth rapidly appeared and soon the new brush was providing great food and habitat for our whitetail deer. The brush in many places was so thick as to make hunting the deer difficult. With the ideal habitat the deer population exploded. A few years later when the new trees became pole timber they no longer provided the food required of the vast deer herd. The deer then focused upon farm fields. A very difficult period for farmers ensued where the deer devoured their crops leaving little if anything for the farmer to sustain his way of life. Finally early this century the Game Commission responded with increased seasons and bag limits. This combined with a couple of hard winters along with possibly other unknown factors caused the deer population crashed.

I must wonder if the return of the gypsy moth will cause this cycle repeat.

Friendly Alien?

Are there aliens among us? Does this photo prove their existence? I think not, although a closer look at some of God’s little creatures can give us insight upon where Si-Fi folks get some of their inspiration.

One day while driving our local back roads this little guy hitched a ride on my windshield. In the past I would not have taken a second look but now it is different. I quickly realized that here was a unique photo op.