Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: explore2014July31

Photographed this beautiful Iris at the Reader Rock Garden late afternoon on 25 June 2014. Drove there on my way home from a volunteer shift, as I wasn't all that far away. The sky had darkened and I was expecting it to rain by the time I got there, but the sun came out (along with the wind). "Iris is a genus of 260–300 species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species. As well as being the scientific name, iris is also very widely used as a common name for all Iris species, as well as some belonging to other closely related genera. A common name for some species is 'flags', while the plants of the subgenus Scorpiris are widely known as 'junos', particularly in horticulture. It is a popular garden flower." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_ (plant)

On 27 July 2014, a few of us had a "tour" of a naturalist's garden, as part of an Open House here in the city. I was glad to have the chance to take a few photos of some colourful flowers, including the Showy Milkweed that I posted yesterday. This tiny Crab Spider had obviously slowly changed its colour to camouflage itself against the yellow flowers. "Thomisidae do not build webs to trap prey, though all of them produce silk for drop lines and sundry reproductive purposes; some are wandering hunters and the most widely known are ambush predators. Some species sit on or beside flowers or fruit, where they grab visiting insects. Individuals of some species, such as Misumena vatia, are able to change color over a period of some days, to match the flower on which they are sitting. Some species frequent promising positions among leaves or bark, where they await prey, and some of them will sit in the open, where they are startlingly good mimics of bird droppings. These spiders may be yellow or white, depending on the flower in which they are hunting. Especially younger females, which may hunt on a variety of flowers such as daisies and sunflowers, may change color "at will". Older females require large amounts of relatively large prey to produce the best possible clutch of eggs. They are therefore, in North America, most commonly found in goldenrod (Solidago sp.), a bright yellow flower which attracts large numbers of insects, especially in autumn. It is often very hard even for a searching human to recognize one of these spiders on a yellow flower. The color change from white to yellow takes between 10 and 25 days, the reverse about six days." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misumena_vatia It's supposed to get up to 34C (93.2F) this afternoon! Far too hot without air-conditioning! Maybe thunderstorms, which would feel great. After my volunteer shift, I need to go food shopping - can't wait to stand in the frozen foods section : )