Bugs and Roses

If you’ve worked with tools as long as I have, you’ve probably noticed that the tools you own play a large part in determining not only what you’re able to do, but also what you’re apt to do. Since I bought my Canon 100mm macro lens I can’t go to the Pt Defiance Garden without also focusing on the insects, which, in turn, has made me more aware of various parts of plants.

For instance, I couldn’t help but notice how many of these small butterflies/moths were around.

Skipper

Curious whether it was a butterfly or a moth, I discovered it’s called a “Skipper” and it’s one of those insects which defies classification since it shares characteristics with both the butterfly and moth family.

I tended to ignore the bumblebees I posted in the earlier entry, but I think this might be the unidentified insect I posted at the same time though I didn’t realize it when I took the picture.

insect

I wonder if there are flies/bees that are in the same category as the Skipper?

Sometimes when you look real closely at nature you find things you don’t expect, like this shot:

 Spider

Of course, the shot also exposes one of the serious limitations of a macro lens: sometimes it’s impossible to keep everything in focus. Though I kind of liked the mystery of what the spider itself looked like. It’s clear that it would present a real threat to all those insects pollinating the roses.

Nor could I resist the temptation to shoot this miniature rose,

miniature rose

which, due to the magic of the macro lens looks exactly like a full-size rose, though in reality it was slightly larger than my thumb.

And, looking around, I couldn’t resist the temptation of trying to capture the center of this flower.

almost a mandala within in a mandala.

4 thoughts on “Bugs and Roses”

  1. Oh jeez, Loren, when I see the remarkable, intricate, surpassingly beautiful detail of these creatures—the geometry on the bumblebee wings, the tiny hairs on its legs—I almost feel compelled to migrate back to theism and praise the artistic vision of the Creator! But I think I’ll just praise your artistic vision (and the makers of your lens) instead! Thanks for the visual feast—a nice kickstart to my Saturday morning…

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