Tag: hover fly

Friday (22-October-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Mourning Dove, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Eastern Bluebird, Cedar Waxwing, House Finch Northern Cardinal.


Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Flowers of the Day: Cosmos, Marigold, Morning Glory, Zinnia


Flowers of the Day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Bumblebee feeding on a Marigold, Hoverfly feeding on a Cosmos. Hoverflies are camouflaged to look like bees. Great Nature program on PBS the other night “My Garden of a Thousand Bees” Made me go out with my Loawa 24 mm macro lens to get some images of bees in my garden.


Bumblebee feeding on a Marigold. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Hoverfly feeding on a Cosmos. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (40.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (27.1 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and clouds. Deficit of 13.5 kWh.

Sunday (16-June-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

It appears that hover flies really like all of the poppies currently in bloom. In a small white poppy (Icelandic Poppy?) observed a tiny Praying Mantis eating a tiny Hover Fly. Even though I didn’t have a macro lens on the camera, I was able to crop the image to make the tiny insects visible. I have never seen a Praying Mantis this early in the season. Normally, I only see them when they are much larger in late July and August.

Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Small White Poppy with Hover Flies and a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (74.2 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (42.05 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Power use is up since I reduced the indoor temperature provided by the WaterFurnace Geothermal HVAC system. Will raise the indoor temperature to 72°F for tomorrow. The power was also out for a little over one hour in the morning. For safety/code reasons, if the PSE&G power is down, my solar panels are disconnected from the grid. I’m thinking of getting a couple of Tesla PowerWall batteries so this doesn’t happen in the future.

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