Tag: Buggy Lunch

Thursday (16-July-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Anti-Gardener — This squirrel is eating a Daffodil bulb in the cloth pots. Probably thinks it is one of the black walnuts it hid last fall.

Squirrel eating Daffodil bulb. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 200-500 mm f/5.6 VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Squirrel eating Daffodil bulb. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 200-500 mm f/5.6 VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Birds of the Day: Black-capped Chickadee, Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal, Brown-headed Cowbird, and House Finch.


Birds of the Day. Individual images from this slide show can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Butterflies of the Day: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.


Butterflies of the Day. Individual images from this slide show can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

There definitely are two types of Clearwing moths were present. They prefer pink to purple flowers (Bee-Balm, Lemon-Mint, Bergamot, Larkspur, Delphinium). The Clearwing Hummingbird moth (Hemaris thysbe) is larger, and has light-colored front legs. The Clearwing Snowberry moth (Hemaris diffinis) is smaller, and has dark/black colored front legs. I am trying different camera lens combinations to see which is the best to capture images of these moths.


Clearwing Hummingbird Moths (Hemaris thysbe) captured with a Nikon Df camera and 300 mm f/4 VR lens. Individual images from this slide show can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Clearwing Snowberry Moths (Hemaris diffinis) captured with a Nikon Df camera and 300 mm f/4 VR lens. Individual images from this slide show can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

I noticed Yellowjacket Wasps hunting both Butterflies and Clearwing Moths. Possibly to lay eggs in the victims.


Yellowjacket Wasp attacking an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly captured with a Nikon Df camera and 300 mm f/4 VR lens. Individual images from this slide show can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Yellowjacket Wasp attacking a Clearwing Snowberry Moths (Hemaris diffinis)captured with a Nikon Df camera and 300 mm f/4 VR lens. Individual images from this slide show can be viewed at my PhotoShelter Gallery.

NOTE: IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS VIEWING THE SLIDE SHOWS PLEASE TRY A DIFFERENT BROWSER AND LET ME KNOW WHICH BROWSER YOU ARE USING. THANKS!!!

Daily Electric Energy Used (47.5 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (55.2 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. More clouds. A surplus of 7.7 kWh.

Tuesday (01-October-2019) — New Jersey

Autumn Indoor Nature in New Jersey.

I saw a relatively small black Spider caught a larger Crane Fly for breakfast.

Spider feeding on a Crane Fly. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens + 1.4x teleconverter (DAVID J MATHRE)
Spider feeding on a Crane Fly. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens + 1.4x teleconverter (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (54.3 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (41.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More sun in the afternoon and warmer out. The Geothermal HVAC used 6.1 kWh for cooling. The new hydroponic gardens used 8.7 kWh. Overall a net deficit of 12.7 kWh.

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Eight-Years Ago (21-August-2011) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Hummingbird Clearwing moth as a meal for a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 320, 105 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.

Clearwing Hummingbird Moth as a Meal for a Praying Mantis. Sourland Mountain Preserve, Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 320, 105 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Hummingbird Clearwing Moth as a Meal for a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 320, 105 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)

Tuesday (23-August-2016) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Hairstreak (?) Butterfly caught by a very well camouflaged Insect (or is it a Spider). The decoy on the back of the wings of the butterfly didn’t help to keep it safe. Image taken with a Nikon N1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec).

Hairstreak (?) Butterfly caught by a very well camouflaged Insect (or is it a Spider). The decoy on the back of the wings of the butterfly didn't help to keep it safe. Image taken with a Nikon N1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Hairstreak (?) Butterfly caught by a very well camouflaged Insect (or is it a Spider). The decoy on the back of the wings of the butterfly didn’t help to keep it safe. Image taken with a Nikon N1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Sunday (21-August-2016) — New Jersey.

Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Praying Mantis With an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail for Sunday Brunch. Sourland Mountain Preserve. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 300 mm f/4 lens.

Praying Mantis With an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail for Sunday Brunch. Sourland Mountain Preserve. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 300 mm f/4 lens. (David J Mathre)
Praying Mantis With an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail for Sunday Brunch. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 300 mm f/4 lens. (David J Mathre)
Praying Mantis With an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail for Sunday Brunch. Sourland Mountain Preserve. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 300 mm f/4 lens. (David J Mathre)
Praying Mantis With an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail for Sunday Brunch. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 300 mm f/4 lens. (David J Mathre)
Praying Mantis With an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail for Sunday Brunch. Sourland Mountain Preserve. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 300 mm f/4 lens. (David J Mathre)
Praying Mantis With an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail for Sunday Brunch. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 300 mm f/4 lens. (David J Mathre)