About 10 years ago I found a round black beetle about the size of a large pea in my dog’s water bowl. I could tell right away it was a scarab. A closer inspection revealed it had an impressive horn on the tip of its nose. Although I wasn’t actively collecting, it was impressive, it […]
Anthony Westkamper
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Of Beetles and Gadgets
It was cool and windy when my friend and I went for a walk at the Humboldt Bay Wildlife Refuge. Large flocks of geese attested to the success of conservation efforts over recent decades. Egrets, grebes, ducks of several species, mud hens and one of my all-time favorite song birds, bi-colored blackbirds, put in appearances. […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Safer to Look Like Crap
First day out with my new Canon 6D Mark II today and so far I’m happy. I used my Sigma 150/600-millimeter lens and, after a slow start, managed to find a few subjects. I watched as a smallish dragonfly searched among the willows looking for someplace to dine on its catch. As soon as it […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Beetles and Gadgets
It was cool and windy when my friend and I went for a walk at the Humboldt Bay Wildlife Refuge area. Large flocks of geese attested to the success of conservation efforts over recent decades. Egrets, grebes, ducks of several species, mud hens and one of my all time favorite song birds, bi-colored blackbirds put […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: In-Flight Photos
Capturing photos of tiny insects is hard enough. They move and wander off the set. They’re so high contrast they can cause exposure control to go whacky. They are so small that auto-focus often selects the background. If all that weren’t enough, add motion and photos of insects on the wing are tricky. F stops […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Killer Fungus and the Return of Butterflies
It’s a jungle out there It rained the other morning, giving me an excuse to not mow and enjoy the little English lawn daisies a little longer. Small flowers attract small critters and there was drama aplenty among the blades of grass. First off, the zombie dung flies (Scathophaga stercoraria) are back right on schedule. […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: It’s a Jungle Out There
It rained this morning, giving me an excuse to not mow and enjoy the little English lawn daisies a little longer. Small flowers attract small critters and there was drama aplenty among the blades of grass. First off, the zombie dung flies (Scathophaga stercoraria) are back right on schedule. The fungus Entomophthora muscae infects some […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: A March of Butterflies
It’s been a long, wet and cold March, but one sunny day brought out the early spring butterflies. I watched half a dozen California tortoise shells (Nymphalis californica) feed and chase each other among the flowers clothing my green gage plum trees. I’m not sure if these aerial acrobatics were part of a mating ritual […]
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HumBug: Wings of the Fly
A reader recently suggested I write about a particular anatomical feature of the order diptera, which contains about 60,000 known species including flies, mosquitoes, crane flies, midges and gnats. Unlike most other flying insects with four wings, members of this group have only two. Evolution has reduced their rear wings to tiny club-shaped structures called […]
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HumBug: Bumbling into Spring
It snowed here Monday night and has been cold for the rest of the week. Because insects are cold blooded, this means there just weren’t many out and about, but I did get buzzed by a bumblebee feeding on the newly emerged pussy willows. I don’t think they get much nectar from any individual catkin, […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Home Again
Returning from a two week vacation near Olympia, Washington, where I saw practically no bugs at all, I was greeted with a large millipede and a spider at my front door. It’s good to be home. Spring, I find, is springing all around. Judging by daffodil blooms here in Humboldt County, we’re about two weeks […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Bugs on (and Under) Wheels
Spiders in a car What do you do when you’re driving and a spider runs across the inside of your windshield? Like any good entomological photographer, I pulled over at a safe place and took its picture, of course. Done with the photo shoot, I herded it onto an envelope and ushered it outside. Really, […]