Different Kind of Hunting

 

Every so often, I find my work for Pesticide Action Network intersects with my farm job and with my own personal time.  I've taken a page out of Kip Ladage's book.  Kip likes to say that he does his hunting with a camera lens and finds that it fits his temperament and heart for the wild places in this world.  I appreciate that about Kip and the fact that he continues to share his efforts with photos, words and video on a daily basis.

While I am not much of a photographer and I do not take photos daily, I do periodically like to take the camera out and meander the farm or visit a wild place in northeast Iowa.  And, of course, when we go to other beautiful places on this Earth, the camera goes with us.  Lately, however, I've taken to actually hunting for pollinators on some of the flowers I see as I do chores and check things out on our farm.  I am sure that some folks who drive by our farm at the right (or wrong) time just shake their heads about the guy with a red hat and his odd habits - like standing next to a "weed patch" with a camera.

Half of the hunt is locating the pollinators at a time when they are active and foraging.  Then, there is the part where I often have to stand, squat, or sit patiently until they sit still long enough for me to TRY to take a clear photo of them.  You can guess how many of these digital images are immediately tossed when I view them on the computer screen.  The last step - the one I am guilty of often not finding the time to complete - is to identify what creature was captured in my hunt.

Usually, I know enough to say the insect on the sunflower is a bumblebee.  The trick is to learn how to identify WHICH KIND of bumblebee is on that sunflower.  

The insect on the goldenrod shown above is a hover fly of some sort. But, there just happens to be a whole host of different hoverflies in North America.  This one seems to be an Oblique Stripetail Hoverfly, if you can trust my attempt to identify it.  According to iNaturalist, their larva are an important predator of aphids - one of the pests that bother vegetable farms like ours if left unchecked.  

Well, given the number of these types of hoverflies I have observed this year, we've got some natural checks for the aphids!  I like that.

Since we have three hives of European Honeybees on our farm, you would be right to expect to see them on the flowering plants this time of year.  At present, the various types of asters are carrying the load as far as providing food for our pollinators.  This particular honeybee was a little bit shy and preferred to peak out from behind another flower while I was attempting to capture its presence.  

Hey!  Just because it is in a hive we help to maintain, it doesn't mean it is obligated to pose!

Just prior to the two nights of hard frost at the arm, we had many yellow, daisy-like flowers in our ditches.  I haven't taken the time to identify this particular flower, but I made sure to capture images so I can get to it in the future.  After all, the file drawers in my brain are a bit disorganized sometimes and I just can't keep all of this information in my head (no matter how hard I try).

This time around I captured two different pollinators.  At the top is another sort of hoverfly, probably the Common Flowerfly. In the flower towards the bottom is a type of bumblebee.  However, I sometimes hesitate when I read about the number of hoverflies that mimic insects that have stingers (like bees and wasps).  But, I am fairly certain this time around.

And, speaking of wasps (we were?), I was able to capture at least one in my most recent "hunt."  

What I find most pleasing about this sort of hunt is that it is not required that I do anything to disturb these creatures.  I remember feeling just a bit uncomfortable with the process of collecting insects for a 7th grade biology project.  We had to catch, kill and pin specimens and then do what we could to identify them.  I remember I also tried to catch butterflies for a time to put in my own "collection."  But, that did not last too long either.

With the event of digital cameras, I can now collect these critters to my heart's content and they get to go on their merry way.  Sounds like a positive development.

Here's to more successful hunts in the future!