Six-Years Ago (21-August-2010) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Monarch butterfly feasting on a thistle flower at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens with a 2.0 TC-E teleconverter (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec).

This year, I have only seen three Monarch butterflies and only been able to get a picture of one. None of them were feeding. In the past they favored Thistle flowers and Joe Pye Weed flowers. I saw many Monarch butterflies on this day six years ago.

Monarch Butterfly Feasting on a Thistle Bloom at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens with a 2.0 TC-E teleconverter (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Monarch Butterfly Feasting on a Thistle Bloom at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens with a 2.0 TC-E teleconverter (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)

Saturday (20-August-2016) — New Jersey.

Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Late Afternoon Walkabout at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Six images of a Clearwing Hummingbird Moth working a Thistle flower. Images taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens.


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Five-Years Ago (20-August-2011) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Robber Flies Mating on a Blade of Grass at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 320, 105 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec).

Robber-Flies Mating. Sourland Mountain Preserve. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 320, 105 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)
Robber Flies Mating. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera  and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 320, 105 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (19-August-2011) — New Jersey

Summertime at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Clearwing Hummingbird Moth on a Thistle Bloom. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth on Thistle Bloom. Sourland Mountain Preserve, Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Hummingbird Clearwing Moth on Thistle Bloom. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec). (David J Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (19-August-2011) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Praying Mantis Eating a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth.  Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.

Praying Mantis Eating Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. Sourland Mountain Preserve, Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Praying Mantis Eating Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)