I Found A New Thing

Okay, I admit it. I like bugs. No, not the ones that turn up in my house, and definitely not roaches. Instead I am talking about finding insects outdoors. There is just about nothing that excites me more than finding a stand of flowers covered in bugs.

Bee on Spiderwort
June 2004

And it is not enough for me to find such a place, I am always on a quest for their identity. I like to know what it is, and why it is there. Fortunately for me, the web is a fount of such knowledge and full of people who know their bugs. My task then becomes one of remembering what I was told.

Flowers and insects never get old with me. I could return day after day to the same location and re-photograph what I must have 10,000 shots of already. So you can imagine my excitement the other day when I found a new flower covered in bugs of all sorts - flying insects, crawling insects, predators, and prey.

Celosia argentea va. spicata
Flamingo Feathers

I could have pulled up a chair and watched for hours as creatures flew around me. A dozen different species of wasps whizzed past; a large, green lynx spider, its mouth full of a fat bee, stared me down. And perched just above its head was a fierce, yellow dragonfly oblivious to the drama below.

Female Roseate Skimmer Dragonfly

What a fascinating world! And now I have found a new flower I must add to my garden. Just think of all the happy times I can have just watching the insects wander by...

The World of Bugs
May 2001

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Suzanne
Suzanne Williams Photography
Florida, USA

Suzanne Williams is a native Floridian, wife, and mother, with a penchant for spelling anything, who happens to love photography.