When my wife asked if I wanted to take a midnight stroll I was delighted. I was even more delighted when we saw a couple of unexpected predators. Not wishing to get into a conflict with the bear, we turned around and headed homeward, frequently looking over our shoulders. On the road home, we saw […]
red admiral
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Winter Butterflies
The winter solstice is passed but I can’t see any lengthening in the days yet. It’s almost not worth waking up for — at least it might seem that way to an overwintering butterfly. I have spotted at least three species flying on recent warm winter days: a painted lady, red admiral and mourning cloak. They’re […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Getting Butterflies
Hurray! The recent warm days have brought out the butterflies. One of my favorite butterflies is the red admiral (Vanessa atalanta). It was pictured on the cover of my first little bug book the, Golden Guide of Insects. That was before the advent of bar codes and ISBN numbers. Unfortunately, it was not common in my […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Look What the Sun Brought Out
I for one have had enough rain to last me a while. Many insects don’t have very long to get down to the business of procreation and continually postponing it due to rain can be worse than deadly. In nature, insects only live for one purpose: reproduce, that’s it. So, now the weather has turned, […]