Predator!

A few years ago a movie named "Predator" came out
which was about an alien beast that came to the jungles
and preyed upon people for years without being discovered.
That was until Arnold Schwarzenegger and his band of army
misfits figured out what it was and how to stop it. Well I
wondered for years how people came up with the idea for
the creature that was almost invisible and the ultimate predator.
Little did I know they just went out to the local garden and
saw a mantis insect. What an incredible predator to find in my
garden the other day in the form of this Stick Mantis below.


Stick Mantis           Brunneria borealis


Perfectly camouflaged to be a part of the vegetation
it stalks a small leaf hopper on the leaf in the below
picture.                                                                

Makes for an erie feeling as it looks at me when I get

just a little too close and scare off his lunch.             

Back to the hunt after it decided I was too big for it to

carry off and eat. Ha Ha!                                         

Couldn't help but take a close up of the impressive

leg armour it uses to capture and hold it's prey as it

devours anything unlucky enough to get within it's

   reach.  Note the barbs on the back of the legs.        

Woe be unto the prey that lets this creature get too close!

"In all things of nature there is something marvelous."

   Aristotle(384BC-322BC): Greek philosopher and polymath

Clear-Winged Sphinx Moth

Growing up on a farm in central Alabama I was taught at an

early age about wasps, bees and other not so friendly insects.

As young boys my brother and I were always exploring and playing

in the woods, fields and yes, mothers and grandmothers garden. One

of the most vivid memories I have as a young lad was being stung by

a bee for the first time. I remember learning that bumble bees could

really hurt. One day while playing I happened upon what I thought at 

the time was a bumble bee on steroids. It was the biggest bee I had

ever laid eyes on and I ran for cover every time I saw one around the

garden. To a bright eyed kid it looked like a bumble bee, just larger!

Much larger! I didn't learn until many years later in a entomology class in

college that what I thought was a bee was actually a moth. Well I have

overcome my fears of the creature and was delighted to find a couple 

going about their business in a nearby state park. The moths are very

hard to photograph because they just won't be still long enough for a 

shot. So if these seem a little blurry, I gave it my best. 

Clear-Winged Sphinx Moth - Hemaris thysbe

It is almost the size of a hummingbird.

Also called Hawk and Hummingbird Moth

I don't know if this color variation is a different specie

or just a color or age thing, but it sure is pretty.

"Between our birth and death we may touch understanding, as a moth brushes a

window with its wing."

         Christopher Fry(1907-2005): English Playwright

Say Cheese!

I happened upon this dragonfly in a local marsh I frequent and it allowed me to slip up rather close and set up my camera without moving. With somewhat harsh light, I began to snap a few shots and the wind was just enough to cause my subject to blurr just a bit from the movement. After a few shots, I noticed that the dragonfly would open and close it's eyes. This was just the coolest thing I had seen in a while so I set about to capture it closing it's eyes. This was harder than I thought as it was a very quick motion. But then as if it knew it was being photographed, it posed for me with what could be called a most inviting pose and grin and then held it's eyes closed long enough for me to snap the last shot before it decided the pay wasn't good enough for all the stress. Ha Ha!

          I believe this to be a male Blue Dasher.   Eyes open.

              Say Cheese, Please!    Isn't that the cutest grin!

           Thank you!     Eyes closed.

"Deep in the sun-searched growths the dragonfly

hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky."

  Dante Gabriel Rossetti(1828-1882): English Poet, Illustrator, and Painter

Green Thumb of Nature!

I know, I know, another bee on a flower picture! Hey, what can I say. I just love the relationship between the insects and the flowers. It is an amazing cycle of dependence, mutual benefits, and life, that I struggle to understand in more detail.



                                     Yellow Cone Flower - Rudbeckia laciniata

These beautiful flowers were adorning the summit of Mt. LeConte 

on a recent hike up to the Mt. LeConte Lodge for an overnight stay. 

Nature has the most awesome green thumb!  



"Tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes!"                                              

William Wordsworth(1770-1850): English Romantic Poet                                                                       

A Bloom For A Day!

A beautiful, large flower that is related to Althaea officinalis which is a plant brought from Europe from which marshmallows were originally made. Each bloom may reach 8" across.  

                                Swamp Rose Mallow - Hibiscus moscheutos

Today, marshmallows are made from corn syrup and gelatin.

Each flower of the Mallow bloom for only one day and then they fade away. Most plants have many flowers that open sequentially, giving the apperance of the blooms lasting much longer.

“Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.”

    Gerard de Nerval(1808-1855): French poet

Beauty With a Purpose! The Passionflower

For those flower loving friends out there, do you ever ask why some flowers are shaped the way they are? Well, I ask that question when I took this first photo of a Passionflower, Passion Vine or Maypops as some call them. Why all the elaborate setup of the pistil and stamens? 

Passiflora incarnata 

It all seems like a lot of overkill! Why not something simple like some of the other flowers? 

 Well I know there is a more technical anwser but the next picture I took a few days later gave me the anwser I was looking for.What we look at as beauty, the flower definitely has a purpose in mind for the elaborate display and setup.

Below a carpenter bee lands and is drawn by the pretty rose color of the corona for a possible treat of nectar and at the same time look at where the back of the bee is in relation to the anther of the stamen. Right in perfect position to transfer and receive the pollen from the accumulation on the bee's back. Is this not the perfect design? The anther is shaped perfectly to be touched by the bee when it lands on the flower seeking the nectar it loves. 

Fruit of the Passionflower or Maypop. I remember as a kid finding these along the field edges and jumping on them to hear the "pop" when the fruit busted.

And thus the web of life continues in one small part of the great creation!



Humankind has not woven the web of life.

We are but one thread within it.

Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.

All things are bound together.

All things connect.

Chief Seattle, 1854

Attention!

The moment I gave my attention to this Black-eyed Susan, a myriad of insects began paying a visit to this particular flower. And the flower suddenly became a world all it's own, with a story that continued to evolve the longer I gazed upon it's beauty. 

After watching the interactions of the insects with the flower for a few minutes the following things came to mind: Beauty, Diversity, Dependence, Co-dependence, In-dependence, Inter-dependence, Tolerance, Competition, Acceptance, Desire, Need, Co-existence, Appreciation, Sharing, Relationships and the list could go on. Further pondering rendered the simple fact that: just because we humans have intelligence, doesn't necessarily mean we are intelligent. Sometimes nature can make us feel so small, so insignificant. We like to think we understand so much, when in fact we understand so little.

"The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself."

       Henry Miller(1891-1980): American novelist and painter

What's That Perfume Your Wearing?

While visiting relatives in eastern Tennessee, this Io Moth just happened to fly and land on a window pane of the house. Needless to say, I grabbed the shutter box and ran outside in the dark and grabbed a couple of quick shots. This one is the better of the lot and it is a little out of focus but what drew me to post it was the rather large feather like antennae.

These are most unusual and rarely noticed by most folks. After a little research, I found that the males have these large antennae and they use them to locate the female of the specie.  It turns out that the females emit a sex hormone that the males are able to detect, thanks to the large number of olfactory receptors in these antennae, up to 11 kilometers away. (Don't ask me how someone figured this out.) Go figure! Apparently, they can detect only 1 molecule of the odour in 1 cubic yard of air. They follow the scent trail depending on the side of the antennae that is getting the strongest scent. It is documented that a single female in a box in the woods attracted over 100 large males to her in just 3 hours time. Now that's a nose to make a coon dog envious! LOL!

Guys, don't ever question your lady when she puts on perfume, ever again. There is a reason for it! Ha Ha! And you better take notice or she may draw in some unwanted competition! Ha Ha!      

                                 Io Moth: Automeris io                                Click for a closer look

                                                 

"To attract men, I wear a perfume called, New Car Interior."

     Rita Rudner( 1953 -      ): American comedienne, writer, actress

The Beauty and The Beast!

Well after several weeks of no rain, we finally got close to 1 inch today and it was sure welcome. The flowers in our yard really appreciated the drink and they just seemed to burst out with life. I had to grab the ole shutter box and go take a few frames to add to my trillion or so pics. This Althea was just begging me to take it's picture so I had to oblige.

Just as I was getting into the soft light breaking out of the clouds and trying to get the best shot possible, I noticed a little visitor. Well it was a most unusual looking beast so I turned my attention to it. I am sorry but I don't know the name of this member of God's creation but I thought it was harmless enough and worthy of a closeup.

The sun came out strong and the soft light departed so I retreated inside my house to soak up the coolness provided by the good ole AC unit. Later in the evening just before the sun dropped behind the trees, I looked out my window and saw the most beautiful soft light hitting the Althea flowers again. So I went out to get one more shot to add to the hard drive and low and behold, my ole buddy the beetle had been enjoying an afternoon snack, courtesy of the Althea flower I was planning on shooting again.

 

Needless to say, this presented me with a problem. Who wants to see a flower full of bug holes??? But just as God intended, His creation proves once again His genius in designing all things on this earth. Each has a purpose and is here for a reason and these shots show the beauty and the beast as He intended them to be.

"Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."

          Holy Bible-New King James Version        Genesis 1:24-25

Scorpion King!!

I guess if your blog is based mainly on all of God's creation, sooner or later you are going to have an encounter with some of those unpleasant critters that share this planet with us. Well, say hello to one such critter.

They say there is a first time for everything and I guess that includes an up close and personal encounter with a scorpion! Yikes! I have never met one before this opportunity and my perceptions were right on in that "I don't like the little buggers." I believe this is the Southern Unstriped Scorpion or also called the Southern Devil Scorpion (Vejovis carolinianus). I read that it is not poisonous but may cause pain and swelling around the bite area and can cause allergic reactions in persons susceptible to stings and bites. This one made itself known while visiting some relatives in East Tennessee. I didn't hang around for the execution, but I am confident it was carried out!

"Above all things, never be afraid. The enemy who forces you to retreat is himself afraid of you at that very moment."
 Andre Maurois (1885-1967) : French Author

More Swallowtails!

Black Swallowtail  (Papilio polyxenes)

"Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it."
                   Confucius ( 551BC - 479BC): Chinese thinker and social philosopher.

"I Was Looking Back To See"

Praying Mantis

I was looking back to see
If you were looking back to see
If I was looking back to see
If you were looking back at me.

Photo above reminded me of an ole song from several years ago by Jim Ed Brown ( I Was Looking Back To See)

I found this carnivorous insect hanging
onto a dead tomato vine in my garden. We humans like to watch other creatures, but how cool when they turn their attention on us. That is what happened here when I got a little too close to this Praying Mantis. They get their name due to the way they hold their front legs together as if praying. Praying Mantis are predatory insects and they eat almost any insect that gets within reach of their claws. There are accounts of a Praying Mantis catching a hummingbird. 

"On every stem, on every leaf,... and at the root of everything that grew, was a professional specialist in the shape of a grub, caterpillar, aphis, or other expert, whose business it was to devour that particular part."
          Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894): Physician, professor, lecturer, author.