July | 2016 | naturesnippets

Archive for July, 2016

29 Jul

Morning Dew

Posted by naturesnippets in Spiders. Tagged: beads, dew, sparkling, spider web, strands, stretching, weave. 6 comments

A strong storm system went through before sunset last night.

I went straight to the computer after an early breakfast …

and was shocked at the size of a spider web stretching from the pine tree to a vine on part of my rock pile.

Teeny beads of dew lined all the strands of the web.

Clouds didn’t detract from the web’s sparkling appearance.

The web measured 3 to 4 feet tall … or more.

I was too fascinated to think about its height.

I wondered just how long it would take a spider to weave a web of that size.

The sun came out after I got back in the house, giving me this view,

before the spider “took” the web down for the day.

A Passing Spicebush Swallowtail

Posted by naturesnippets in Insects. Tagged: butterfly, change, colors, crab spider, female, phlox, predator, spicebush swallowtail. 6 comments

So few butterflies have visited our backyard this summer. Their numbers have been the lowest I’ve ever seen.

So, I got excited when a spicebush swallowtail flew across our backyard on its way south. It didn’t stop.

Our yard’s been full of them at times over the years … them and many other butterfly species too.

A butterfly in an odd position usually means it’s in the clutches of a predator.

In this case it was a female crab spider.

Females are much bigger than the males.

Crab spiders have the ability to change color to match the color of the flower they’re on. Obviously, this one hadn’t changed yet. I have no idea how long the change takes.

22 Jul

Dragonflies in the Yard

Posted by naturesnippets in Insects. Tagged: butterflies, dragonflies, female, Halloween pennant, male, widow skimmer. 8 comments

So far the butterflies are almost nonexistent this summer. I could probably count all I’ve seen on one hand.

So, I’ve switched to dragonflies instead. Their numbers are relatively low. At least they’re in the yard.

Male widow skimmer

This is another widow skimmer. It’s fresher than the one above. This was the only angle it cooperated for.

Female widow skimmer

Halloween pennant — it’s the first I’ve seen this summer.

I have yet to identify the dragonfly above and the one below.

It’s like I’ve said before, I don’t need a name to enjoy the find.

20 Jul

Monarch Caterpillars

Posted by naturesnippets in Insects. Tagged: butterflyweed, caterpillar, garden, monarch butterfly, toxic, warning colors. 5 comments

Here it’s the 20th of July and I’ve only seen one monarch butterfly!

My gardens haven’t had much attention this summer. Very few butterflies have flown through the yard or visited any of the few flowers.

Monarch butterflies (and many other butterflies species) usually visit butterflyweed.

This summer, there’s only been the one in this picture.

Only these flowers persist on the cluster of plants.

And then I found a monarch caterpillar in the leaves of the butterflyweed.

Bright colors in nature are warning colors.

You eat me and I’ll make you sick.”

The monarch butterflies are toxic too.

18 Jul

Another Face

Posted by naturesnippets in Misc.. Tagged: bedroom, camera, full moon, pictures, spirit, trees, window. 4 comments

I always take pictures of the full moon (some, like this one, from in the house). The trees blocked the last full moon until bedtime. So, I took the camera in the bedroom and later took pictures through the south window when the moon peaked through the trees. I didn’t realize until the next day, when I was looking at the pictures, that I photographed what looked like a moon spirit …

The man in the moon does exist!

17 Jul