Look at this Dad my daughter Becky called. I never know what she might have found when Bex calls me. This time it was young praying mantis. The smallest I ever saw.
The Praying Mantis will watch you as if studying you. These two young appeared as vigilant as the grown up Mantis I have observed.
Becky is an excellent observer of tiny critters. She spotted this tiniest moth I think. I have watched these before they float around like a speck of white cotton.
Here is one of the leaf hoppers you posted yesterday she said. I took this shot to show you the size perspective.
Here is another variety of Leafhopper she called. This one dark brown. Maybe laying an egg? And what is that even smaller thing underneath it?
Over here is another colored Leafhopper. This one light brown. It is an adventure on the front porch when Becky’s young eyes go to work. She also spotted some Mosquito larva I think in a pool of water. I failed to get those wiggly things in focus.
It always helps to have another set of eyes or hands to discover. I added this image to the post as another reference to the size of the Leafhoppers. These were on the underside of a Maple trees leaves. More than likely there are some near you. It might take a set of young eyes to find them.
This is the first species of Leafhopper I ever saw. Researching the leaf hopper there are over 20.000 varieties. The tiny insects suck the sap from plants, grasses, and such.
This is the Leafhopper from the first image cropped and rotated. My daughter Becky first showed me them on the underside of Red Bud leaves. This shot was taken on a Walnut Tree. I would guess the size at less than an eighth of an inch. They have wings but I have not seen them fly. Usually they lumber along a stalk or leaf slowly which along with their shape made me think of a dinosaur when I first observed them. I wish I had gotten a better shot to know where the eyes are. The cigar looking thing I had in yesterdays post I believe I was focusing in on the tail end instead of the head. Hard to tell what to make of these miniature insects. Their color and shapes are interesting to me. Hope you enjoy them too!
Our dogs are aware of most of what is around the house. When something new shows up or is out of place they immediately pick up on it. If a car is parked in a different location in the driveway they go to barking to let us know something is amiss. I had to laugh at Dixie yesterday when she spotted this plastic frog daughter Becky placed on a rock by the new water feature she built in the yard. A mothers day gift. Dixie was spooked at this new arrival and was very careful in her approach.
Dixie was already a little spooked after finding this Garter Snake. This is the second snake the dogs found this week. They bark and carry on until I come inspect what they found.
I have to scratch my head at the amazing colors and complexities of the insect world I can now discover with the macro lens. My son used the Canon 7D of mine Saturday. He was using the video capabilities of the camera. It amazes me how a creative person like him can in a short period of time put together a video that has such artistic feel. Me, I barely can capture what nature provides.
It was great to have our two children home from out of town for Mothers Day. I think how we tried to give them a view of the incredible world we live in before they left home. A world in which I am still discovering today thanks to the camera.
Raising kids was the most important thing I have ever done. In many ways that time was like an instant in my life and they were on their own. Like trying to capture this tiny bug I see often. I get one shot then the bug takes off as soon as it hears the click of the camera.
With an eye to the future we hope to assist our oldest daughter Sara. She is in the motherly way a term I find endearing. I know the “Little Woman” will be the best of grandmothers. I just hope they let me hang around and have a little input too.
It always helps to have a bad example to show a kid. You don’t want to be like “Grampy”. I can hear it now.
Here is hoping the Mothers Day around your house was as pleasant and eye opening as mine.
