Photography
grrlscientist | April 14, 2009tags: Abert's Towhee, Pipilo aberti, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Abert's Towhee, Pipilo aberti, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 22 February 2009 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2009:02:22 16:36:34
Exposure Time: 1/400
F-Number: 5.60
ISO: 250
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
A big, long-tailed, pot-bellied, heavy-billed sparrow -- aka, a towhee.
The only towhee…
laelaps | April 14, 2009
The skeletons of a few apes (from the right: Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, and Homo sapiens), photographed at the National Museum of Natural History.
sb admin | April 13, 2009Fire ants aren't the only formicids that have to worry about parasitoid phorid flies. Many species are hosts to this diverse fly family.
Below are a pair of photos I took recently near Jujuy, Argentina showing a trio of an unidentified Pseudacteon species hovering over an ant nest. One of the flies hit her target, inserting her ovipositor between the ant's abdominal sclerites.
I don't say this about all my images, but these shots were truly lucky. The flies are much smaller (1mm) and more erratic than the phorids I posted previously. The oviposition itself took a fraction of a second,…
grrlscientist | April 13, 2009tags: Lantinen Pukkisaari, nature, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Lantinen Pukkisaari.
Walking on the Water on Lantinen Pukkisaari near Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 22 February 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | April 13, 2009tags: Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, photographed in Quintana, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Yes, it's a gull -- but don't panic. I think you'll agree…
sb admin | April 12, 2009With 12,000 described species, ants dominate global terrestrial ecosystems. Here are a few of them.
Name: Nothomyrmecia macrops
Distribution: Australia
Famous for: The story of its rediscovery (As told by Bill Bryson- scroll down)
Name: Dinoponera australis
Distribution: South America
Famous for: being the largest ant in the western hemisphere
Name: Polyergus sp.
Distribution: North America
Famous for: piracy, taking of prisoners
Name: Dorylus helvolus
Distribution: Africa
Famous for: terrorizing subterranean arthropods, taking of no prisoners
Name: Pogonomyrmex maricopa…
sb admin | April 12, 2009Whirligig beetles inhabit the interface between air and water. The series below depicts Dineutes sublineatus, a large species common in the mountain streams of Arizona.
Whirligigs are named for their habit of swimming in frenetic loops along the water's surface, a behavior that makes them difficult to photograph in the field. To get these shots, forgive me, I cheated.
I set up a 10 gallon aquarium in the relative comfort of my living room. This not only confined the beetles to an area small enough that I stood a reasonable chance of capturing one in focus, I was also near both the…
grrlscientist | April 12, 2009tags: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, photographed in Brandon, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 1 September 2008 [larger view].
Photo taken with a Canon 20D, 400 5.6L lens.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
aardvarchaeology | April 12, 2009
29 October: Sunny autumn morning among the sailing boats hibernating along Pålnäsvägen.
21 December: The dark spot marks where our feet and the wheels of our office chair have damaged the flooring over 7½ years at the home desk on Lakegatan.
9 January: Skating on Lake Lundsjön.
6 April: Fiddling with my smartphone in my new Academy office.
grrlscientist | April 11, 2009tags: Chambers Street, Park Place, World Trade Center, Oculus, Andrew Ginzel, Kristin Jones, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Oculus #36, 1998.
Stone mosaic on walls throughout Chambers Street station complex (A & C trains); also, there is a stone and glass floor mosaic at Park Place entrance, which connects to this station via a tunnel.
Artists: Andrew Ginzel & Kristin Jones.
Image: GrrlScientist, 3 January 2009 [larger view].
Oculus is located in passageways under the World Trade Center and was largely untouched by the events of 9/11. Oculus will also be…
grrlscientist | April 11, 2009tags: NYC, Upper West Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Blossoms, UWS, Manhattan, NYC.
Image: GrrlScientist, 10 April 2009 [larger view].
When the camera shutter clicked to get this picture, I thought of the impressive body of work produced by one of my favorite painters, Henri Fantin-Latour.
grrlscientist | April 11, 2009tags: Female Gadwall, Anas strepera, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Female Gadwall, Anas strepera, photographed in San Bernard Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
My usual harping is sort of beside the point when we have no…
aardvarchaeology | April 11, 2009
13 September: Samuel and Ludvig play the piano at Ludvig's aunt's house in Viggbyholm.
12 October: Playing Pandemic at a gaming convention in Gröndal.
21 October: A mechanical excavator is delivered to my dad's property to start work on the new sauna.
21 October: Seminar about Open Access at the Research Council.
sb admin | April 10, 2009In Argentina, an ant-decapitating fly (Pseudacteon sp.) attempts to separate a fire ant (Solenopsis sp.) from her nestmates:
More photos- and the story behind them- below.
An ant burdened with prey is the easiest target of all:
The ants aren't defenseless. The classic "run-and-hide" works well enough:
What's the deal with the dreaded Ant-Decapitating Flies? The University of Texas Fire Ant Project explains:
"Female phorid flies are attracted to fire ants swarming over a disturbed mound or foraging along a trail to food. They hover over ants looking for a preferred individual. (Each…
grrlscientist | April 10, 2009tags: Chambers Street, Park Place, World Trade Center, Oculus, Andrew Ginzel, Kristin Jones, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Oculus #35, 1998.
Stone mosaic on walls throughout Chambers Street station complex (A & C trains); also, there is a stone and glass floor mosaic at Park Place entrance, which connects to this station via a tunnel.
Artists: Andrew Ginzel & Kristin Jones.
Image: GrrlScientist, 3 January 2009 [larger view].
The green that you see is a "gift" from a random agent of destruction. I think it is chalk, but am not sure.
Oculus is located in…
grrlscientist | April 10, 2009tags: NYC, Upper West Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature
Flowers, photographed on the UWS, Manhattan, NYC.
Image: GrrlScientist, 10 April 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | April 10, 2009tags: NYC, Upper West Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature
Peach Roses, photographed on the UWS, Manhattan, NYC.
Image: GrrlScientist, 10 April 2009 [larger view].