travels

Fourth of July is usually a sparse time for animals. The gunpowder and noise not only chases birds away, but the flood of loose dogs means there are fewer mammals around near humans. The metals powders poison waterways too. Insects are usually less affected. The start of the monsoon, however has brought out a flood of mosquitos. Fortunately, other insects are happy to be seen, too.

These metallic beetles seem to congregate on sunflowers. Their colors are awesome and found on many beetles, as well as native bees.

This wasp is called a steel blue cricket hunter. It does exactly what it says on the box. The crickets become a living host for the wasp's larva.

This hornet eats insects and pollen. The size of the wasps currently are a little intimidating, luckily most of them are not interested in people.

This insect is a bit more rare. A vinagaroo, eating a moth that was dazzled by a porch light. This one was pretty big. Those attention grabbing front claws are not dangerous, however. It uses a gland at the base of the whip-like tail to deter humans. It is vinegar smelling.

The bright sun is a little rarer with all the clouds around, so this turtle took advantage. The water levels have dropped, but that has only encouraged the growth of the duckweed that is coating this red eared terrapin's back.

Large male bullfrogs spend the hot days staking out a section of pond and bellowing ownership. They rest on the surface of water weed. The bright yellow throat develops as they compete for space.

The sunlight has a distinctively yellow color to it as it shines below the grey clouds. The enhanced contrast this gives green leaves makes for great landscape pictures.

A double rainbow. The sun has to be within 35 degrees of the horizon with a slight sheet of rain for a classic rainbow to form.

In the Gila, along their bosque, there seems to be a lot of walnut trees, a new species for me, but I have also found these up in the Sandia near abandoned houses.

This tree is a quince. A domestic tree, but I still don't really know what they are for.... Most trees are fruiting now, bring a whole new set of insect specialists out into the open.