Monday in Nature, April 10, 2017

Basic Guidelines: In the strictest sense, nature photography should not include "hand of man elements". Please refrain from images with buildings or human made structures like roads, fences, walls. Pets are not permitted. Captive subjects in zoos, arboretums, or aquariums are permitted, but must be declared, and must focus on the subject, not the captivity. Images with obvious human made elements will likely be deleted from the thread, with an explanation to the photographer. Guidelines are based on PSA rules governing Nature photography which also cover the Nature Forum. Keep your image at/under 1000 pixels on the long axis for in-line viewing. Note that this includes photos hosted off-site at Flicker, Photobucket, your own site, etc Are you new to this thread? We post one image per week.

Spring is in the air, they say, but other than the brown of mud season little in the way of color has come out yet here in Maine so I’ll start off with black and white from the downeast coast. Any harbingers of spring from anywhere else?

Stump in the sand.

As I was sitting in my living room a few evenings ago, I noticed a yellow jacket queen striding across the floor. I trapped her in a plastic container and popped her into the refrigerator, thinking I’d slow her down enough that I might be able to make some photos. The next day I discovered, to my chagrin, that yellow jackets appear to be functionally incompatible with cold storage: she was dead. I figured I’d get some photos anyway and took her outside.

Imagine my surprise when, as I was arranging her on a leaf, I discovered that there is no obvious way of distinguishing between a dead yellow jacket and a yellow jacket that is merely hibernating. Relief at not having killed her was not the first emotion I experienced at the instant of discovery, but I did manage to set her down carefully. Over the course of the next two minutes I set up the tripod, got the focus, got the exposure worked out, and discovered that yellow jackets can go from zero to frisky in about two minutes. Frisky is not a good thing. Back into the refrigerator. A couple of hours later she’d calmed back down, and this time I got everything set up before bringing her back out. She’s now moved to a pasture at the far end of my road.

Happy Monday(ish). I haven't had much of a chance to get out with the camera to catch spring here, but did pop by a zoo the other day. No hand of man in the shot, but yes, it is captive.

Hummingbird

Fly & Fungi

Still living in the snow and mud so here is something from the archive.

Lakeside daisies

The bee crashed my picture - I was just trying to shoot the Cut-Leaf Toothwort when I heard a buzz. Photo was taken last week at the Raccoon Creek Wildflower Preserve outside of Pittsburgh - over 700 species of plants have been recorded there.

Harbinger of spring? How about wildflower superbloom in the Carrizo Plain National Monument. Plain and hillsides are awash in color right now; this image was taken from the Temblor Ridge Road.

Meadowlark Sings

Meadowlark Sings by David Stephens, on Flickr

Well, dcstep, my meadowlark wasn't singing. Great shot[ATTACH=full]1182638[/ATTACH]

Darn. Still, great shot.

A Colorado scene that had me wrestling with the midday sun. I didn't have the luxury of waiting it out.

Leslie, I love your shot. I've had lots of experience with yellow jackets. They are unpredictable and fight dirty.

Once a few years back I waited til the cool of an autumn evening, climbed a ladder and slid a plastic ice cream container over a nest hanging from the eve of my house. I slapped the lid on as they were mounting a counter-assault. Then I placed them in a chest freezer until I could relocate them. When I removed them months later I just left the container on the freezer in my garage overnight and the next day it was buzzing with action! They're very resilient. Also, very vindictive. I've been attacked for no rhyme or reason while minding my own business on more than a few occasions. Still, the Blue Jays seem to love them and I love the Blue Jays... :)

As I was sitting in my living room a few evenings ago, I noticed a yellow jacket queen striding across the floor. I trapped her in a plastic container and popped her into the refrigerator, thinking I’d slow her down enough that I might be able to make some photos. The next day I discovered, to my chagrin, that yellow jackets appear to be functionally incompatible with cold storage: she was dead. I figured I’d get some photos anyway and took her outside.

 

Imagine my surprise when, as I was arranging her on a leaf, I discovered that there is no obvious way of distinguishing between a dead yellow jacket and a yellow jacket that is merely hibernating. Relief at not having killed her was not the first emotion I experienced at the instant of discovery, but I did manage to set her down carefully. Over the course of the next two minutes I set up the tripod, got the focus, got the exposure worked out, and discovered that yellow jackets can go from zero to frisky in about two minutes. Frisky is not a good thing. Back into the refrigerator. A couple of hours later she’d calmed back down, and this time I got everything set up before bringing her back out. She’s now moved to a pasture at the far end of my road.

[ATTACH=full]1182544[/ATTACH]

Leslie, I like everything about this shot. The composition, the DOF, and above all the lighting.

The Bumble Bee is now officially on the endangered list. This is alarming - as pollination is so critical in the food chain and the economy, We really should pay more attention to this matter. The Xerces Society (link) offers a lot of information that we can learn and act upon.

Traveling without a good camera for the week, but I got out to Phinizy swamp near Augusta, GA, where spring is arriving in the form of alligators.

Come on in, the water's fine!

The Bumble Bee is now officially on the endangered list. This is alarming - as pollination is so critical in the food chain and the economy, We really should pay more attention to this matter. The Xerces Society (link) offers a lot of information that we can learn and act upon.

The human race has exterminated many species with no thought to the wider-ranging effects of this activity. There is bound to be a knock-on effect at some point - maybe it is already too late.

Lots of insects this week. Found this yellow jacket nest at the edge of the wetlands, nearly missed it because it was only about a foot above ground.