Clik here to view.
Low tech beetle photography with great results
Over the last 6 years I have photographed literally thousands of Arizona beetle species with the goal to build an inventory for a field guide - but it is very difficult to find a publisher for such a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A change in public perception: Killer Bees or threatened pollinators
Wikipedia says it quite correctly: "A new honey bee colony is formed when the queen bee leaves the colony with a large group of worker bees, a process called swarming. In the prime swarm, about 60% of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Infestation 2014
The swarm settled for a photo shootDon't worry - I'm not going to write about insect pests and pesticides. Every year in August Pat Sullivan and Lisa Lee open their home in Ramsey Canyon to a swarm of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Birds of Paradise (Caesalpinia spp)
Our 'house garden' with a mixture of indigenous and imported xerophytes When we bought our property in Picture Rocks in 2002, there was a run-down flower garden close to the house. We expelled half...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dynastes granti, the largest Arizona beetle
If all gas stations were this clean, I'd have more fun collecting Dynastes grantiThe Hercules Beetles are flying! Even though some 'real' entomologists scoff at my appreciation of these big, shiny,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Holy Grail - charismatic megafauna - Dynastes granti in Arizona!
If all gas stations were this clean, I'd have more fun collecting Dynastes grantiThe Hercules Beetles are flying! Even though some 'real' entomologists scoff at my appreciation of these big, shiny,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Between two storms and a powerpoint presentations - a visit to Annual Sunflowers
I don't have much time for insect excursions or blog writing because I am preparing a 3 h powerpoint presentation for the Master Naturalists of Cochise County on Friday, which is tomorrow. Today we...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Insects of Cochise County for the Master Naturalists Program
On Friday, I gave a 3 hour 'Insect' lecture for the Master Naturalists of Cochise County. Thank you Sheri Williamson and Tom Wood (Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory) for inviting me! I had no idea...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pat and Lisa's garden in Ramsey Canyon
September 20: I spent the night after my presentation for the Master Naturalists of Cochise County at Pat and Lisa's place right next to the Ramsey Canyon B and B and the Nature Conservancy. The road...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Toxic Shocker?
The BBC recently acquired one of my spider photos for the October issue of their Wildlife magazine. The blurb with it was 'shockingly' racy and hyped up in true mass media fashion.But the source link...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hot Peppers
At the beginning of summer one of our big box stores was offering all kinds of little pepper plants for next to nothing. So we probably took home more than we will ever want to eat.The plants grew very...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I learned something new in a round-about way
I just learned something that I had missed so far because I was always too squeamish to observe it. The birth of a maggot that is. I remember being fascinated by a wiggling masses of white worms on a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A walk in the Rock-disk Park
Here are just some early autumn photos from an area in Marana, Arizona, that was flooded by the Santa Cruz River during the recent storm. This is a very temporary wetland: I was completely dry for over...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Aposematic caterpillars from poisonous host plants
Yesterday I found some caterpillars on the shoulder of Catalina Highway, just above Molino Basin. Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) feeding on Southwestern Pipevine (Aristolochia watsonii)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mysterious piles of silvery grains in the desert
I like my social media connections very much, even if I do spend much too much time with them. On Facebook, BugGuide and Flickr I am connected to many knowledgeable experts in their fields and creative...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Early November at Silverbell Lake
We took the dogs to the dog run at Christopher Columbus Park today, but it's much less fun than it used to be - with younger dogs and Cody to keep everybody on his toes. So instead we walked around...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fifteen Minutes at Tohono Chul Park
Today I delivered 20 little canvas prints of my paintings to the gift shop of Tohono Chul Park on the north side of Tucson. I did not have time to wander through the park itself, but I checked out...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Madera Canyon on a cool, windy November day
View from Proctor Road towards Green ValleyYesterday it was sunny when I left Tucson, but at Madear Canyon a cold wind was whipping the few left-over flowers. Mostly Terpentine Bush, a few Asters, and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hover flies of the desert SW: Copestylum spp.
Many Syrphids or Hover Flies resemble bees or wasps and may be mimics of those armed Hymenoptera, because Syrphids themselves are harmless nectar feeders. The larvae of certain species are predatory,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fountain Hills Fountain Pond
Bird photography with handicaps: Art show duty with ten minutes to spare. Raising sun in my eyes. Unpredictable diving subjects. Teasing girls and males full of hormones. Chatty dog walkers with...
View Article