From time to time, someone asks how I got this or that shot and what gear I used. Like most technical people, I suffer from gadgetitis, and have an array of cameras and accessories for various tasks. The more or less formal dividing line for “true macro” is a 1:1 magnification, meaning that a 1-centimeter […]
Anthony Westkamper
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Seasons Change, Bugs Change
Following up on last week’s post of photos of the American rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) male, I decided to try to get a better shot of the wings. Relying on the fact that this species is extremely territorial, I found him in exactly the same spot. This time I got closer and waited until he flew […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
On the Wing
Damsels in fall The unseasonably warm and dry weather seems to be allowing some species of insects to linger later in the year than I’ve seen before. Among them are two damselflies. I checked my archives and this is the latest date in the year I’ve ever noted either the rubyspot or California spreadwing (Archilestes […]
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HumBug: A Sparse Week
Looking for something to write about this week, I remembered back in June I posted a photo of a robber fly cannibalizing another one. When it was done, it flew away leaving the dead victim’s carcass in the weeds, so I collected and mounted it. Surprisingly, it fell apart, the back half of it disintegrating […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Damsels in Fall
The unseasonably warm and dry weather seems to be to allowing some species of insects to linger later in the year than I’ve seen before. Among them are two damselflies. I checked my archives, and this is the latest date in the year I’ve ever noted either the rubyspot or California spreadwing (Archilestes californica). I […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Lepidoptera
Walking along the Van Duzen River today after three frosty nights, I noted four different kinds of butterflies. We saw many Mylitta crescents (Phyciodes mylitta), got a brief glimpse of what was most likely a woodland skipper (Ochlodes sylvanoides) and a West Coast lady (Vanessa annabella). A California sister (Adelpha californica) flitted up and posed […]
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HumBug: Who’s Your Daddy Longlegs?
As soon as the UPS delivered my newest camera lens, I had to go a hunting. Since it’s fall, many insects are gone until next year but there’s always something interesting out there. Today was no exception. Before I even got out the door, I noted a daddy longlegs on my window screen. It only […]
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HumBug: Halloween Romance
You see them nearly everywhere this time of year, the big female cross orb weaver spiders (Araneus diadematus). If you get close you can see the emblem of the cross for which they’re known. As I looked at one particularly large female spider, I noticed another spider with a leg span nearly as large as the lady […]
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Creepy Crawlies
Creepy, Cute and Unusual Looking closely at more crawling critters than most folks, you’d think I’d get used to them. But there is one critter that still holds a Class 4 creep factor for me: the common centipede. If you could cross a spider and a snake, centipedes would be the result. Flexible, fast and […]
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HumBug: Spiders in the House
The month of October, ending in Halloween, is the perfect time to check out our local spider fauna. Many of the largest and showiest species are at their finest at this time of year. With that in mind, I’ve seen quite a few lately. At my house, at least, the common house spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum) […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Creepy, Cute and Unusual
Looking closely at more crawling critters than most folks, you’d think I’d get used to them. But there is one critter that still holds a Class 4 creep factor for me: the common centipede. If you could cross a spider and a snake, centipedes would be the result. Flexible, fast and venomous — in their […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: The Girls of Autumn
If spring is the season of butterflies, autumn must be the season of spiders. A short walk across some brushy terrain yielded several dozen spiders of at least half a dozen species. Among spiders, females are often much larger and more conspicuous than the males and, for ones with an annual cycle, this is when […]