Friday, June 24, 2011

Species a Day, Week 10

Check out the rest of my Species a Day writeups here.

Haikus were fun last time, so I figured I'd do it once more. (Don't worry. The next edition has three dragonflies and a spider in it, so I'm sure I'll be back to full pedantic ramble mode.) I may add full writeups to this soon, but until then, someone has been commandeering the computer during summer break, so you get these. I didn't mock my sister this time (no bees), but I still did my best.

The first and last pictures are by my son, so I guess he partly made up for the computer hogging.

Day 64: Golden paper wasp, Polistes aurifer


Trust me: Leave them be.
Do not spray them in the air.
Learned the hard way. Ran.

Day 65: Arizona tan mantis, Stagmomantis gracilipes


Little cannibals.
Started with many of you.
Few left, but well fed.

Day 66: Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus


Born with eyes open,
Downy hatchlings totter out.
Mother scolds: Kill-dee!

Day 67: Queen butterfly, Danaus gilippus


Milkweed sap defense.
For mating, guy brings plant drugs.
Alkaloids. Hey; works for him.

Day 68: Hackberry emperor, Asterocampa celtis


Erratic flier,
Eating carrion and dung.
Beauty from refuse.

Day 69: Say's phoebe, Sayornis saya


Cinnamon belly,
Wagging tail, and darting flight:
Grassland flycatcher.

Day 70: Gambel's quail, Callipepla gambelii


Chicks follow in line,
Like ten fluffy tennis balls,
Chasing plume-topped pear.

3 comments:

Thérèse said... Best Blogger Tips

I'll check on the Arizona Tan Mantis. A fun picture!

Barbara said... Best Blogger Tips

These are wonderful! I just took a pic of a killdeer myself this weekend.

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

Thanks for providing really informative articles on your site. How can I share it on Facebook?