That is just precious!

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"The years teach much which the days never knew." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Awww thanks!

Wow! This photo is fantastic--it got quite a few gasps out of me, one for the black-eyed Susans, a couple for the butterflies…

Ooh, now I'm shivering with envy…

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Life is complex. It has both real and imaginary components.
My new blog: Intrinsically Knotted

Awwww... thank you very much.... I am very proud of all my insect shots... they are the hardest to capture!! I am sure you are very well aware of that!

Oh yes! Hard enough to be there at the right time, and then you have to get the camera on them just right before they fly off.

But I'm still jealous…I've never even gotten to see a Painted Lady, much less photograph two of them on one of my favorite flowers!

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Life is complex. It has both real and imaginary components.
My new blog: Intrinsically Knotted

Yep you hit the nail on the head... The one twelve spotted skimmer dragonfly pic of mine was a really fun one... I was chasing him through a swampy field.... thought for sure I was going to get bit by a snake! Then I missed a shot several times before getting the one a split second before he took off again! LOL

Do you know bugs pretty well? Any idea what type of butterflies or bugs some of my other pics are? I didn't even know these are painted ladies. I really need to study up on my bug knowledge.

The funny thing about this pic is that it was completely random. I stopped at a reststop/welcome center in Florida on the way to Disney World and we were taking pictures in front of the welcome sign. Right next to it was this flower bed... and I snapped this pic like nothing... it was simple... they were posing and only took one shot LOL Which is verrrrry uncommon!!! That is why it is so funny you like this one so much compared to the others I busted my butt to get! LOL

I think I've only managed to get a dragonfly sitting still once. At least butterflies and bees will generally stay on the same flower while they have lunch, but dragonflies are FAST. A couple months ago I was wading through a marshy part of a lake trying madly to get a shot of a neat black dragonfly with white patches on its wings, and it would fly off if I was within like ten feet. I had no chance. (I also got myself a leechy passenger, but that's another story…

I'm still learning about bugs--mostly butterflies and moths--because I didn't really start looking them up until a few months ago. But I've found a few books and websites that identify the more common ones (and some not-so-common) and I can identify a lot of them now, though not always down to the level of the species. Yours are probably Painted Ladies, though there are a few other kinds of "Ladies" that look similar, and I haven't seen anything yet that tells you how to recognize the differences between similar species.

Random shots are some of the best! I've gotten some of my best shots by being in the right place at the right time, and quite a few mediocre-but-it's-the-best-I-can-do from bugs I've stalked all day.

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Life is complex. It has both real and imaginary components.
My new blog: Intrinsically Knotted

Well I got lucky on that day... I actually got a photograph of another dragonfly besides the Twelve spotted skimmer... it is a little dark brown/black one... I am not as proud of it... but chased him around just as much... but it still turned out decent. I just haven't had the time to post it. I think I will try to check out some guides and identify some of my other butterflies. I am dying for a great capture of a monarch butterfly. My favorite color is orange... I would be soooooo thrilled to have that! By the way... leeches are YUCKY! LOL

I want to see the other dragonfly!

One of the more useful butterfly/moth guides I've found online is this one. It goes by location, rather than by the color of the butterfly, but I didn't find it too hard to navigate, and it's fun looking at (drooling over) all the butterflies I haven't yet seen!

Yeah, that leech wasn't too fun, but at least it didn't itch like a mosquito…

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Life is complex. It has both real and imaginary components.
My new blog: Intrinsically Knotted