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I'm afraid this post will be a little lengthy in terms of scrolliness. Please bear with me...




It's taken me a while to get some photos organized because I've been working through the concert shots from the other night in Photoshop and I have a slow workflow. Another factor is my slow server connection. I remote host images on Fotki because their pipe is fatter than mine, but getting a few hundred MB of image data to them is time consuming.

I don't have much to say this morning. I'm tired and sipping on java... waiting for motivation to seep into my mood. EL and I are in this pre-wedding limbo. It's close... really close. If we don't think too much about all the shit we have to do between now and then, we won't freak out. Today is errands and stuff... once we get moving. I wanted to go biking with Sam, but we never followed up on it. Alas, another lazy day. I do have some pictures (finally) to share.

First off, stuff around the house that was kinda weird recently. EL had a plant in the kitchen window that suddenly developed spots. Further inspection revealed Mealy Bugs (Pseudococcus Affinis):















They are said to have a waxy filament that covers their entire bodies that makes them highly protected from pesticides and a really nuisance to kill. Interesting.

Oh, a quick side note... blast from the past for Michael. You remember this bug that we couldn't figure out what it was?





Well, it's an Ambush Bug (Phymata Erosa). They chill out in flowers and wait on unsuspecting prey. They have gin-trap front legs like a praying mantis and have a raptorial lifestyle... they are also supposed to be lightning fast when they attack. Pretty nifty.
Last night I found a really odd spider out back that had some kind of bulbous thing attached to it... egg sack maybe?





Dunno.

Ok, now the really cool discovery. Have any of you ever seen a Spineybacked Orbweaver? Neither had I... until EL found this in the yard. We didn't know what it was at first, but later discovered it's background. It's a spider with some interesting visual characteristics. Hard shell back like a crab with patterns that look a little like a smiley faced skull... spines around the edges of the back. It has a colorful ass and a hidden face... a very odd little beast. The shots in the web are crappy because of the wind blowing it to and fro, but once the fella rappelled to the lawn, I was able to get a better view. I challenge you to tell me that last picture in the series doesn't look like a crab's body with a possessed chimpanzee's head! Freak!


















































Ok, so here are some butterfly (and a couple bird) shots from earlier in the weekend that simply were stuck in slow bandwidth land for a few days. I'd love to hear your comments. I'm posting some good ones with some bad ones because even if the focus and composition isn't just right, you still get the idea of the color of the creature...

take a look at the little fly watching from the cantaloupe

he jumps in for some kiwi (by the butterfly's foot)

a better view of the fella

neat eyes... I wish he would have turned around

eating a tiny insect

same thing... little closer... a lot of flutter going on here

Thanks!!