Mantid cannibalism “fairly rare,” except when it’s not

We’ve all heard stories about the tendency of the female praying mantis to bite the head off the male after mating, right? Well, that’s a gross exaggeration, and unfair to the species. In point of fact, the female bites off the head before mating, which, according to this article, spurs the guy on. Hard to… Continue reading Mantid cannibalism “fairly rare,” except when it’s not

Mesmerizing Morph

This is the most amazing thing I’ve seen in quite a while. Many adjectives come to into play, including “amusing,” “terrifying,” and “mysterious” but “mesmerizing” was the one that ruled them all for me. (Note: This will work best if you have a pretty speedy internet connection.) Source: Petapixel

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Dos Burros

There are two burros pastured about a quarter mile from our house. Every so often, something will set them off – a rattlesnake, a coyote, perhaps even each other – and we’ll hear their braying all around the neighborhood. I took a photo of them a year or two back, when we were in the… Continue reading Dos Burros

Another Dragonfly Pic

I trust that your appetite for Scarlet Darter dragonflies is not yet sated.

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Categorized as Photography

Dragonfly

Debbie spotted this dragonfly as we were walking around the pond earlier today. I didn’t have my camera with me, but we returned about 30 minutes later and the insect was still hanging around (actually, there were two of them, chasing one another with unknown motivations). According to this website, this is a Scarlet Darter… Continue reading Dragonfly

High Wire Act

This walking stick was hanging from an electrical line over our B&B at Canyon Lake last week, barely in reach of my zoom lens. I don’t know what he thought he’d find up there, and he seemed to make a great target for a hungry bird, but I guess he knew what he was doing.… Continue reading High Wire Act