Just Another Nature Enthusiast
JANE’s Images & Thoughts 🌲 Inspired by the Pacific Northwest & places I wander
I am not surprised to learn…Yellow Jackets are at their population peak in the late summer and early fall. This is when nests can have populations of 2,000 to 4,000 worker yellow jackets (all female), some drone (male) yellow jackets and up to 50 queens at once. The workers will soon start dying off until late in autumn when until the nest population is reduced to a small number of…
Nature, a dynamic force… She strategically uses energy. Changes in position within changes in time- Her creatures have purpose. Caught in translatory motion- insects and birds move along straight and curved lines. In flight, one flower to another, they seek pollen-producing stamens. Blossoms, seemingly immobile- appear to be at rest, await pollination. Motion, a phenomenon in physics- well applied by Nature. Lens Artists Photo Challenge: #212 Motion
Explore… Beware… Discover… Rest when needed… Western Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulus Lucas, 1852 Identification: Upperside of hindwing with upper-most marginal spot yellow or lacking. Underside of forewing with separate yellow spots forming marginal band. Hindwing has narrow marginal spots and no orange tint except for 2 spots near end of inner margin. Wing Span: 2 3/4 – 4 inches (7 – 10 cm). Life History: Males patrol canyons or hilltops for receptive females. Females lay…
See that little white egg? It caught my attention while gardening, and led to a new appreciation for… SPIDERS🕷 Specifically, for a species known as- Wolf Spider Hogna aspersa. Although this spider looks scary… I’ve learned that none of the members of the Wolf Spider species are dangerous to humans. In fact, Wolf spiders play an important role in natural population control of insects and are often considered “beneficial bugs”…
Libellula forensis In the Pacific Northwest, this species is active from April to October and can be found in and around ponds, lakes, marshes or slow moving streams in low elevations. It prefers water with a vegetated edge. Eight-spotted Skimmers prey on insects and prefer mosquitoes, termites, butterflies, mayflies and other flying insects. They will mate in the air and the females proceed to lay their eggs in the water…
This was my first butterfly sighting of the year. I was fortunate to have taken a pause at just the right moment to observe this Green Comma Butterfly stretch and feel comfortable in its newly formed wings. The small, white “comma” shape on the lower section of the underside of the wing explains the comma part of this butterfly’s name. Greenish cast to parts of the border are obscured by…