…while taking a keen interest in something or other.
A few years ago, close to this time of year, I lead a group of apiarists (beekeepers) in a macro workshop. After a morning of learning, setting up equipment and some table-top practice, we had lunch and then set out for the hives. It was a sunny afternoon, but cool (about 16ºC) and windy, so... Continue Reading →
A Naturalistic Garden is primarily a method for the urban or sub-urbanite to feel closer to the natural world. It is a garden to relax in rather than to fuss over. It is a garden that invites visitors of all types, from bugs to birds to like-minded humans. It is a garden that allows us, for at least a short while, to escape the pressures and tensions of modern life and to actively connect with our biophilic needs. In this, it can be considered as part of a remedy for lives and lifestyles that have become separated from the natural world which formed our being.
The Scarlet or red lily leaf beetle (Lilioceris lilii) I must confess that when I first discovered this beetle on one of our martagon lilies in 2015 it gave me a smile and added enough spring to my step that I could have managed the clicking-of-the-heels. This leaf beetle --with its scarlet and black colouration--has... Continue Reading →
This is a Laphria sp. of robber or assassin fly, showing a fine mystax, the bristly hairs on the face which are believed to help protect it from injury when it tackles its prey. They are sit-and-wait predators that attack and capture other flying insects--including bees and wasps--while in flight. They then use their dagger-like hypopharynx to penetrate into... Continue Reading →
Female Pompilid wasps are spider hunters. After a suitable species of spider is found, it is stung, and it soon becomes largely immobile. If it has not already done so, the wasp will make a burrow in the sand and then drag the stunned spider to the nest and lay an egg on it. When... Continue Reading →
Looking back to warmer times... The Bronzed or Shore Tiger Beetle (Cicindela repanda) is a common tiger beetle in Alberta, but this was the first time I was able to photograph a mating pair, up on a sandy terrace above the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton. I tried to obtain shots of individual specimens, but... Continue Reading →
Lurching Toward Oblivion 