Siberian iris with bumblebee

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (iPhone 12 Pro Max, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode)

Bumblebee on Coneflower

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. (Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro)

Juvenile Widow skimmer dragonfly

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved. Nikon D850 / Nikkor 105mm micro

Cricket on mums

iPhone 8Plus, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode, Snapseed app border

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

Skipper butterfly on Aster bloom

Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Eastern tiger swallowtail on Vervain

Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro lens, 1/250 sec, f/13, ISO 400

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

It’s the bee’s knees!

Bumblebee on Peruvian lily (Alstroemeria) iPhone 8Plus, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Honeybees on white asters

Honeybees on white asters (iPhone 8Plus, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Tryst on Celosia

I believe this is a pair of Margined Leatherwings (a type of soldier beetle) engaged in a tryst on a spire type Celosia. (iPhone 8Plus, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Bumblebees on Mexican sunflower

Table for two! Tiny bumblebees feasting on a Blanket flower (Gaillardia)

Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro lens, 1/250 sec, ISO 400, f/14

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

Featured in Shutterbug online!

Last summer I was contacted by an editor I work with through Nikon and also Shutterbug magazine. He wanted to run a photo and behind-the-shot story of one of my images in the July 2018 issue of the magazine. Then one month before its debut, the print version of the magazine folded (in other words, Shutterbug was shuttered!). This would have been the second time my work would have appeared in the print publication (the first time was when my fern stamps were featured). Last week I got an email asking if they could run it online and I said of course! So here’s the image and the behind-the-shot story. Special thanks to my friend Sherry Goldstein (the woman who pointed this beautiful critter out to me). Click on the link below to go to the post!

https://www.shutterbug.com/content/always-carry-your-camera-how-botanical-photographer-captured-beautiful-butterfly-image?fbclid=IwAR2JI7E7VTu3Ml9d3-QkTFQIHAUEGKwjWKdvMxJiwiCZcvrYjsLzaQMVJ9U

Iris versicolor

Iris versicolor (Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

iPhoneography: Fly on PowWow Wild Berry Coneflower

iPhone 8Plus, Camera+2 app in macro mode

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

iPhoneography: Flower fly on Rudbeckia

Flower fly (also known as Hover fly) on Rudbeckia bloom, against a backdrop of caladium leaves (iPhone 8Plus, Camera+ 2 app in macro mode)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

iPhoneography: Cucumber beetle on Gerbera daisy

iPhone 7Plus, Camera+ app in macro mode, Snapseed app border

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

Skipper butterfly on chive bloom

Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

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Crab spider on Columbine bloom

Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro, 1/100, f/18, ISO 500

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Crab spider on Columbine bloom

Nikon D850, Nikkor 105mm micro, 1/100, f/18, ISO 500

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Honey bee on Jerusalem artichoke bloom

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Honeybee on ‘Sombrero Adobe Orange’ coneflower

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Skipper on ‘Sombrero Adobe Orange’ coneflower

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Skipper on Purple coneflower

Skipper on Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Hoverfly on a Shasta daisy

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Hoverfly (also known as a flower fly or syrphid fly) on a Shasta daisy

Here’s a random fact I just came across: there is a flower fly found only in the cloud forests of Costa Rica that is named for Bill Gates (Bill Gates’ flower fly). Another one is named after Gates’ associate Paul Allen (Paul Allen’s flower fly). The flies were named such in recognition of their “great contributions to the science of Dipterology” (From the order Diptera, which includes insects that use just two wings to fly)

So now you know, too. You’re welcome. 😁

But wait! There’s more! Curiosity took me to a site that answered my burning question—how long do hoverflies live? A lot shorter life than I imagined! Here’s the answer:

Their live span is similar to other flies. They can live anywhere between 15 to 30 days and it all depends on the climate and temperature they are in.

Tiger on a tiger: Eastern Tiger swallowtail on Tiger lily

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Buffet line: Skippers on Purple coneflower

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Skipper butterfly

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Skipper butterfly on Verbena bonariensis (also called Vervain)

Eastern Amberwing dragonfly

Going through my dragonfly photo archives and came across this “high key” photo of an Eastern Amberwing dragonfly (Perithemis tenera) perched on a waterlily bud. Amberwings are one of the smaller dragonflies. The depth of field is shallow on its wings, but I like this shot because the body and head is still sharp. The high key/bright sunlight works in this photo, too. Normally I try to shoot on overcast days or use a diffuser—but you can’t really use a diffuser on moving subjects! This was shot at Green Spring Gardens a couple of years ago.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Female Blue Dasher dragonfly

Female Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis) on Sacred Lotus leaf

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

 

Blue Dasher dragonfly

Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis) on water lily bud

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.