Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: flower fly

I went out today looking for a mushroom and I found one! It was perfect and in a position that I could see under its cap! I got good pictures too... or so I thought... until I looked at them on my computer and found out that I made a Composition 101 error. When you find a non-animate subject to photograph, look at it closely from different angles to find the best position. I discovered upon looking at the pictures that the shape of the mushroom called for a shift in position and I needed get another set of pictures. LOL, live and learn! :D No worries, because before I went into the house, I went to visit the Goldenrod flowers that my friend Robin gave me, and as I approached, I saw a very pretty bumblebee crawling around with gorgeous markings on it. Then I looked again. It wasn't a bumblebee at all! It was a huge hoverfly! I've never seen one so large and pretty before, and I was lucky enough to get a few pictures before it zoomed away! Lucius Annaeus Seneca (often known simply as Seneca; ca. 4 BC – AD 65) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero. While he was forced to commit suicide for alleged complicity in the Pisonian conspiracy to assassinate Nero, the last of the Julio-Claudian emperors, he may have been innocent. His father was Seneca the Elder and his elder brother was Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus, called Gallio in the Bible. Wikipedia: Lucius Annaeus Seneca Explored on October 1, 2013. Highest placement, page 4.

This was what I saw when I bent down to look at these flowers. Check out this beautiful HOVER BUTT! :D This guy was about an inch long, definitely in the B-52 Bomber category! What a sound this one made, quite menacing actually, though I know it wouldn't hurt me! Thanks to Leapfrog (Art) for identifying this as a Dronefly or European Hoverfly! I really struggled about which picture should be Picture of the Day. I wanted to put this one up, but Steve thought the other one was the stronger choice. I don't know...do you have an opinion? :D

[best appreciated at full size against black] While creeping around the meadow looking for new flowers, I noticed this fly hanging out on a grass stem. Amazingly, this is a handheld macro which actually turned out crisp, I think because it was a very bright day, YAY!! By the way, my husband thinks this fly is gross but he's so wrong! How can he speak so poorly of my little friend?!! :D This image was taken in March, 2012.

This flower fly was having a wonderful time crawling around on the cup of this daffodil. I never realized there are flies that love nectar, but as it turnes out, there are countless varieties which enjoy this tasty treat, and do their part to help spread pollen too!

[best appreciated at full size against black] We are so incredibly fortunate to live on 26 acres in the beautiful countryside of southern Oregon. It's a dream come true for me, something I've wanted all my life. However, when you put a macro lens on a camera, suddenly it seems like 10 sqiare feet is as large as an acre...that means that when I'm nosing around our property for pictures, our 26 acres is more like 113 acres!! Well, it certainly seems like it, there's just no end to the possibilities!! Now that it's warm, there are insects EVERYWHERE. I'm hoping to get lots of great pictures in the coming months, and I took this one just the other day! Here we have a flower fly, who is standing on a buttercup petal. He just got finished getting a meal of nectar and still has a mouth full! SWALLOW, you silly fly!! :D By the way, while writing up this information, it occurred to me that I've never actually SEEN buttercup nectar before. So...I looked it up! I found a very fascinating page by a gentleman named Brian Johnston, who took many extreme close-ups of three different buttercup flowers and gives a wonderful, easy-to-understand lesson about its anatomy, all the way to the microscopic level! Have you ever seen pollen grains at a microscopic level? You will really enjoy the pictures and learning more about these lovely little flowers! A Close-up View of Three Buttercups This image was taken in April, 2012.

This hoverfly was so intent on wolfing down pollen that it didn't mind me getting as close as I wanted to. Nice for practice, I got over a dozen shots and a handful that turned out nicely. This one is my favorite because of the shallow depth of field. Hoverflies are also known as "Flower Flies" or "Syrphid flies" and there are over 6,000 species found world-wide except Antarctica. They often have coloring which mimic bees and wasps, but they are harmless. They are a beneficial insect and eat garden pests such as aphids and leafhoppers. Hoverflies get their name from their ability to hover in place, and often do so when visiting flowers for the pollen and nectar they enjoy. If you would like to know more about these pretty flies, Wiki has a very nice page here: Wiki: Hoverfly