Summertime Nature in New Jersey: Sourland Mountain Preserve.
Can You Find the Insect Hiding in this Image of a Joe Pye Weed. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 70-200 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f/8, 1/800 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC 2014.
Summertime Nature in New Jersey. Sourland Mountain Preserve
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Joe Pye Weed Bloom at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 250, 500 mm, f/5, 1/600 sec). Lens mounted on a monopod.
I’ve visited the Sourland Mountain Preserve several times since returning from Iceland. There are a couple of patches of Joe Pye weeds that the Yellow (Tiger) Swallowtail and Black Swallowtail butterflies are attracted. I did see one Clearwing Hummingbird Butterfly, but wasn’t quick enough to get a picture. I only saw one thistle in bloom. Didn’t see any Praying Mantis (butterfly predators). Also, only one Monarch Butterfly.