Central Ohio NatureRobber Fly
Posted on August 29, 2020
In central Ohio it’s been several weeks since we’ve had any appreciable rain. Add to that numerous days with temps greater than 90F and you have the recipe for a very dry landscape. On concrete hard ground, if it has been walked on at all, as dust rises grass seems to break apart under foot. For the grass it’s hard to believe life will return before next spring. In what seems almost a miracle, the green of most trees continues to contrast with the brown of the grass. Perhaps we should plant more trees. The water level in the reservoir near our home has held up well, and is amazingly clear with little rain to stir it up. In contrast a reservoir a little further away, that supplies water to the city, is down over six feet. Now, with it’s expanse of dry clay lake bottom between the water and shoreline trees, I tell myself it looks better if I just imagine it’s “low tide”.
Trees do their best to maintain the green canopy along the Big Darby, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park.
It’s hard to have high expectations for seeing wildlife in these conditions. But in the middle of the day, as we cower in our air conditioned homes, life goes on. Unlike buzzards, smaller birds, that typically don’t catch thermals to the higher cooler air, are more likely to restrict their activity to the morning and evening. On the sun baked ground at noon I try to imagine what it would be like for an ant to travel any distance. I don’t see many travelers. However, as long as they have access to sources of food, the airborne insects seem unfazed by it all.
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Recently, in the morning’s relative coolness, we found ourselves walking at waters edge in the park near our home, Only a couple hundred yards into our walk a very small bird or large insect was spotted hovering, flying around, then perching on the branches of a partially dead tree. It was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and a “free range” one at that, how exciting. It’s always so much more rewarding to see a creature, not all that often seen in it’s natural habitat, in it’s natural habitat.
Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird takes a brake while on the prowl for insects.
Another look.
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After the hummer just disappeared into thin air, as they have a habit of doing, we wondered what the rest of our time in the park would offer up.
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New England Asters
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Actually I’ve wandered of topic a bit because I started out with the thought of highlighting the really good day we had with robber flies. They seemed to be everywhere on a recent hike of Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park. They’re not an insect that other members of the bug world are happy to see. From the perspective of other insects they are a very efficient killing machine usually waiting in ambush and going after just about anything no matter it’s defenses. Click here for more information. What made the day really good was not only seeing numerous robber flies, but seeing a number chasing and then with captured prey. At one point one loudly buzzed the top of my head as it unsuccessfully pursued a Zabulon skipper. The erratic flight pattern of the skipper undoubtedly contributed to it’s escape.
Red-Footed Cannibalfly perhaps 1 1/2 inches in length. There are over a thousand species of robber fly in the US.
Robber fly with a moth in it’s spiny, not easy to escape, clutches. Barely visible is the piercing-sucking proboscis which is used stab and paralyze it’s prey, inject liquefying enzymes, and then extract the nutritious snack.
. . . with what appears to be a grasshopper nymph.
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Morning light faintly touches Crimson-Eyed Rose-Mallow
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Robber flies weren’t the only insect on the prowl.
Unlike the robber fly, solitary wasps do not consume their prey but instead lay their egg(s) in a nest near or within an insect that has been captured and paralyzed with venom. If all goes as planned, as the larva develops the insect will be it’s food, (Donna).
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Other creatures were also eating other creatures.
Low clear water in the Scioto River made crayfish easy pickings for this Great Blue Hero, (Donna).
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Green-Headed Coneflowers with a visitor.
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Nature always seems to be generous as long as you hold your expectations in check. Often when looking for one thing other things will become part of the mix. It’s usually best to just see what you see.
An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail hides in the foliage.
When one thinks Monarch one thinks milkweed, but there are a variety of other flowers they enjoy. In this case it’s thistle.
The only Little Wood Satyr seen during a hike of Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park.
Question Mark Butterfly, Big Darby Creek Metro Park
A tiny, but very common, Pearl Crescent on a New England Aster, Griggs Reservoir Park.
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In the summer I sometimes just like to sit in my small canoe or walk slowly with no particular focus but only to let nature speak with a more all embracing voice. Realizing at that moment just how much is going on around me that I have no knowledge of, much less understanding. Perhaps a lesson in life in these trying times as I strive not to be ignorant of my own ignorance.
How you choose to look at something determines what you see.
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Thanks for stopping by.
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Flowers and Flies
Posted on June 17, 2019
Exploring the world of insects is an excellent example of how digital photography has opened a door into a world most folks don’t give much thought to much less appreciate. A passion for bugs may start out innocently enough when one decides to photograph a flower and finds that it’s occupied by many creatures not noticed before. A closer look reveals some to be beautiful and fascinating in their own right and others downright scary. This may prompt one to make an effort to identify the bug just photographed which in turn often leads to an awareness of how much there is yet to learn about this small world.Â
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Fortunately it doesn’t take an expensive camera to get a reasonable picture of a insect the size of the common house fly. We’re not talking macro-photography here, where one focuses on the dragonfly’s eye, but instead about a picture that will allow you to identify the insect and be good enough to share on social media. Our favorite of the small sensor “bridge cameras” is the Panasonic Lumix FZ200 or 300. With their fast lens and close focus capability they are a great all round camera for anyone starting out in nature photography. When one moves up from there to larger APS-C sensor DSLR’s you are looking at more money and bulk which may limit their appeal on long hikes. In the world of DSLR’s just about any lens similar to the Canon 18-135 mm will allow you to focus close enough to get a reasonably good shot. Longer lenses such as the Tamron 100-400 mm (more money still) will allow you to focus on subjects that won’t let you get close enough with a shorter lens. With it’s close focus capability perhaps the best all round bird/bug nature camera setup I’ve seen is the micro four thirds Panasonic G7 with the 100-400 mm Panasonic/Leica lens that my wife uses. It employs an excellent but smaller sensor than my Canon APS-C which is part of the reason for it’s admirable close focus performance. That being said I’m sure there are excellent camera setups that I’ve not had experience with.
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Unless stated otherwise the below pictures have all been taken close to home at Griggs Reservoir Park so the adventure doesn’t necessarily mean hours of driving to some exotic location. Almost all insect images have been significantly cropped.
(click on the image for a better view)
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A Bumble Bee enjoys Foxglove Beardtongue.
An nice illustration of the difference in size between a sweat bee and bumble bee, (Donna).
If you think this is an innocent little Bumble Bee you would be wrong in fact it’s a Bumble Bee Mimic Robber Fly no less ferocious than the one below, (Donna).
A more typical looking robber fly a little over an inch long. If you’re a small insect it will be a bad day if you run into one of these, (Donna).
Four lined Plant Bug, (Donna).
Eight-spotted Forester Moth, (Donna).
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Thimbleweed.
Moth Mullein, (Donna).
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A very small but beautiful Long-legged Fly.
It’s a rough world for bugs. A long legged fly falls prey to a robber fly.
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Water Willow at waters edge. Deer are known to browse the leaves and beaver and muskrat will consume the plant rhizomes. The submerged portion is home to many micro and macro invertebrates, (Donna).
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Little Wood Satyr.
Painted Lady, one of the most common butterflies found on every continent accept Antarctica and Australia, their favorite food plant on which to lay their eggs is thistle, they do not overwinter and they can have long migrations up to 9,320 miles long, (Donna)
Hackberry Emperor, a butterfly not usually seen on flowers but on a warm day may land on exposed skin, (Donna).
Question Mark, (Donna).
Red Admiral, (Donna).
Silver-spotted Skipper, one of the larger skippers, (Donna)
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The beautiful flowers of the Milkweed. A very import plant for many insects most notably the Monarch Butterfly.
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Milkweed Beetles, (Donna).
Great Golden Digger Wasp, (Donna).
Perhaps some type of wood wasp, (Donna).
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Black-eyed Susan’s.
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Golden-backed Snipe Fly, they can be found throughout Ohio, and are most often observed resting on low vegetation. They appear in the late spring and early summer, and have been observed mating in late May and early June, although timing likely varies across their range. Little is known about their life cycle.
Small hoverflies on fleabane.
Hoverfly profile.
Two Marked Tree Hopper. Click here to learn more about this fascinating insect.
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Common Mullein.
Northern Catalpa.
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Syrphid Fly Yellowjacket Mimic. The syrphid fly often mimics wasps or bees to gain protection from predators, (Donna).
The Green Bottle Fly is usually observed around less savory food items.
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Black-eyed Susan’s, (Donna).
Depford Pink, (Donna).
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Mating Candy-striped Leafhoppers, (Donna).
Mirid Plant Bug, (Donna).
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Butterfly Weed.
A field of clover.
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A Mayfly falls prey to a jumping spider. Normally slow moving jumping spiders are capable of very agile jumps, when hunting, in response to sudden threats, or to navigate obstacles. They all have four pairs of eyes, with the pair positioned closer together being larger.
Another view, (Donna).
A small moth on Canada Thistle.
If it’s real lucky this Orange Dog caterpillar may become a Giant Swallowtail.
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A field of fleabane.
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A rarely seen Orange Bluet, (Donna).
Female Twelve-spotted Skimmer, (Donna).
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Hairy Wild Petunia.
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It’s hard to believe what’s out there in that small incredible world that goes largely unnoticed by most as we pursue our daily lives. In the hierarchy of human affection warm cuddly animals seem to be at the top with insects being at the other end of the spectrum and usually not considered a welcome intrusion. But as with most things the more you know and understand the more you grow to love.
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A casual glance will not do. To discover wonder and beauty one must look closely with intention.
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Thanks for stopping by.
Central Ohio Nature 