Even though we're well into the new year, here are a few photo favorites from 2019. By the way, none of these photographs have been edited.
Honey bee flying with loaded pollen baskets (legs)
Butterflies love zinnias.
Dragonfly perching.
Flower fly on a brittlebush flower
Cabbage butterfly caterpillar
Queen butterfly chrysalis
Web on a leaf
Let's end with another honey bee.
Happy New Year!
Insects also have awkward moments.
Good thing it wasn't windy.
Have you ever had days like that?
Last week I spotted some lacewing eggs on a rush milkweed plant.
Lacewings are easy to identify because they lay their eggs on the tips of a threads of stiff silk.
The eggs looked really cool because they were backlit, but there was a strong breeze and it was impossible to focus properly.
So, I went out again a few days later.
It was much easier to focus.
But wait. What are those pinkish fuzzy things on the eggs?
The pink fluffs are lacewing larvae. In a stroke of what was entirely luck, I happened to catch the larvae hatching out of the eggs!!
The eggs that are white have hatched. The ones that are pinkish haven't hatched yet.
It's amazing what you can observe if you take a minute.
What did you see this week?