Found throughout North America, this little Flower Fly is seen in my garden on a Shoo-fly flower. An interesting combination. The Shoo-fly doesn't smell sweet, but pollinators seem to like it. And this photographer loved the colour combination here, in lovely soft light.
Photographed in Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Flower Fly Helophilus fasciatus insect pollinator fly Shoo-fly Plant Nicandra physalodes flower macro close up garden backyard yellow blue green summer beauty prairie Val Marie SK Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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The forget-me-nots I planted last spring were a big hit with summer visitors, including this bee fly. It is so named because its larvae are predators on grasshopper eggs; farmers should welcome them. But I suspect that very few people realize these tiny creatures are flies, not bees. They don't sting. They're harmless, and are in fact beneficial as pollinators.
Still a few garden shots remaining in the queue, then on to something else...
Photographed in my backyard prairie garden, Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Grasshopper Bee Fly Systoechus vulgaris wildlife insect bee mimic fly pollinator garden flower forget-me-not blue green summer macro close up prairie Val Marie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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I'm not sure which species of hoverfly this is - different from the one posted yesterday - as it lands on one of my garden flowers. I planted more flowers than usual last spring to attract insects and create late summer photo ops. They get fed and I get photos, a win-win situation!
There were a lot of misses before one flew into my plane of focus and I was able to react in time.
Photographed in Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Hoverfly insect landing flower composite yellow pollinator action flying backyard garden prairie Val Marie SK Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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My garden series continues with a surprise visitor. This is my 14th year living here full time - to which add three years part time, before I bought a house - and only the third sighting of a Downy Woodpecker. And it was a brief visit, less than a minute, during which time I managed about one dozen blurred shots or shots of the back of her head... and one sharp image, with her head in profile.
Since then, I've seen her one more time, in the company of her mate, but they didn't stay around for a photo session.
Prairie lands are about the last place I would expect to see a woodpecker, yet I occasionally do see them. It's a short list of species: Northern Flicker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and of course the Downy.
We don't have forests, but we do have a lot of trees in the village, as do some folks on local farms. My property has Siberian Elm, Green Ash, and Crabapple; Plains Cottonwood has rooted here, too, but I got rid of the last three after one of them crashed onto my roof ten years ago. Luckily no damage. The dead tree this female Downy is investigating is actually just over the fence, in my neighbour's yard, a conifer of some sort that didn't make it.
Photographically, I like the light here. If I could have positioned my little subject so that she was not aligned with the tree top, I probably would have done so, but her alignment is so perfect that I kind of like this look.
Photographed in Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens wildlife bird tree-clinging bird female dead tree backyard garden prairie village Val Marie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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Welcome to my backyard! I tend to eat the vegetables more than I photograph them, but last spring I planted a lot of flowers to draw in pollinators. Borage has the additional benefit of being edible: the young leaves can be added to salads, as can the flowers. You can also freeze the flowers into ice cubes for a touch of summer next winter.
I wish I knew which Bombus species this is, but there are too many bumble bees and I can't find a match.
More garden flowers and insects to come. I shot some from the tripod and hand held others. Macro shots of busy insects aren't easy; my success rate is quite low. But the occasional hit does compensate for all the misses, and on a slow day the challenge is exciting, fun, and can be a spontaneous break from whatever else I've been up to. Very different from the winter months when I usually just stare out my kitchen window at a thick blanket of white.
Photographed in Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Bumble Bee Bombus sp. insect wildlife macro Borage Borago officinalis flower vertical close up pollination prairie garden Val Marie SK Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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