Thursday, October 2, 2008
A Small Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) from our garden. These little beauties are often overlooked because of their plain coloration, but they are among my favorites. I see the adults most often enjoying Queen Anne’s Lace, but the caterpillars feed mostly on plants of the Brassicaceae (cabbage or mustard family). Next year we plan to plant some horseradish in the garden, which will hopefully attract more of these little beauties and let me capture the entire life cycle for Larval Images.
There is a chance to capture some of that life cycle now as the small white will continue to be found here until the hard freeze comes. They hibernate in pupae form and will be the first butters we see in the late winter or early spring.
Of course, this is also one of my favorites, because it’s the N.American cousin of the Large Cabbage White (Pieris brassicae) of Eurasia. P. brassicae is the species that I blogged about at The Other 95%. Some recent research showed it is in the middle of a three way evolutionary arms race with its host plant and a parasitic wasp, because the male’s ejaculate attracts parasites both direct and indirectly.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera
- Family
- Pieridae
- Genus
- Pieris
- Species
- Pieris rapae
Life Photo Meme
Saturday, September 27, 2008
A week or so ago, Johann and I headed out to the hardware store to pick up some PVC pipe so we could make a light tent for shooting Tammy’s booties. We both took our cameras to see if there were some photo opportunities along the way. The hardware store was a bust, but the journey there and back was golden!
First we spotted some great white egrets on an area of marsh. It was high tide and the marsh was flooded. The egrets were hunting through the clumps of marsh grasses for mummichog and other tasty treats. We pulled to the side of the road and got quite a few shots. Eventually a blue heron arrived on the scene, though it stayed pretty far out on the marsh edge. A male kingfisher also visited, perching on the abandoned osprey roost. Up the road at another marsh was a snowy egret prancing along the flooded mosquito ditch. So in one afternoon outing he added the White Egret, Snowy Egret, Blue Heron and kingfisher to his newly started Life Photo Bird List.
Johann’s film card was filled by the time we left the marsh, so he was my spotter when we saw the osprey with it’s striped bass. He was so excited to be buzzed so closely by the osprey that he was literally jumping up and down for all he was worth.
Soon we’ll have to get him his own flickr account.
At the same spot I managed to catch the egret in mid mummichog flip…
Gulp!
Originally uploaded by eclectic echoes.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Ciconiiformes
- Family
- Ardeidae
- Genus
- Ardea
- Species
- Ardea alba
Life Photo Meme
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Johann and I went out to the hardware store and come back with a bunch of photos instead.
This juvenile osprey flew over Johann and I as we were photographing some ducks in Old Mystic, It all happened so fast I couldn’t change much of anything up on the camera. The striped Bass was pretty good sized (~18–20″ long), and definitely looked like he was a tad bit afraid of heights.
We decided to let Johann start using the old Canon Rebel to use with supervision. He went out to Avery Point with it on Friday and got some butters and then this afternoon we passed by some prime marshes where he and I shot some egrets, herons and a kingfisher. As we neared the hardware store there is a small old factory on the river, we got out to shoot ducks there when this osprey screamed low over head. I was already loaded with the 400 and a 1.4x and no time to change. Johann was so jazzed about the whole thing. Now he wants a flickr account and access to the Lightroom software.
Interestingly, I saw something I hadn’t seen with ospreys before as two other ospreys buzzed this one a couple of times as it looked for a suitable perch to eat. They were all juveniles and from that behavior I would assume they were probably nest mates. I have seen nest mates sharing and pushing each other over food brought by a parent. Maybe this is the continuation of that behavior.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Eric’s classes started August 25. Since he was on three medications for his kidney stones, two of which have drowsiness warnings and one of which can also cause blurred vision and dizziness, Johann and I drove Eric to campus, so he could still attend classes. Eric is down to one medication, but it is the one with all three warnings. Eric is so uncomfortable at times and if he gets hit by severe pain, which can come on suddenly, I need to be there to get him home. So, we are continuing to drive Eric to the classes he feels up to. This has made life very interesting for our homeschooling.
While Eric is in class, Johann and I find a quiet place to do some of our lessons. We have chosen different places depending on the weather and availability, but our favorite place is under the willow tree by the water. The evening this picture was taken, we noticed Monarch butterflies flying around and landing on the branches. Apparently they were settling in for the night.
We aren’t getting as much done on some days as we would if we were home, but I’d rather be sure Eric is safe. We will catch up on the activities and subjects we can’t easily cover away from home later. Even once Eric is no longer sick and he doesn’t need us to accompany him, I think we will try to go in with him several times a month. At first we were trying to make the best of the situation, but now we have come to enjoy our lessons under the willow tree. We think of it as our spot and it will be strange not to go there every day when the time comes.
