So, I Was Sitting On Our Porch ------------DIAL-UP WARNING -- Photos-------------

[Mrs. Venation]

It's a beautiful day in Southern Maryland, and I went out to our porch for my Tuesday teleconference. While I was on the phone a beautiful butterfly began feasting on nectar from a butterfly bush in our yard. When the teleconference ended, I ran back in the house and grabbed the camera, hoping the gorgeous creature would return. I got lucky. Here are a few of the photos I took in our front yard today.

[livetohike]

1. Beautiful pics!

Nice to see you around Mrs. V. :hi: Thanks for posting these - the essence of summer.

[Mrs. Venation]

4. Thank You

It's nice to see you, too! I could have stayed out there all afternoon, but the boss has unreasonable expectations of me and expects me to be productive on a gorgeous day such as this.

Later I'll post some photos Bertha and I shot at St. Mary's Lake State Park.

[cwydro]

2. Those are beautiful.

I love butterflies.

[Mrs. Venation]

5. Thank You

I couldn't believe my luck! That butterfly was huge, at least the size of my fist. I appreciated it coming back around and posing for me.

[stuntcat]

3. action bee!

sweet :headbang:

I've taken tons of bug pictures the last few days, it's so cool!

[Mrs. Venation]

6. He Was Trying To Chase Off the Butterfly

But he couldn't. The butterfly mostly ignored him. I was really lucky to get the shot of the bee in flight.

[bertha katzenengel]

9. LOL action bee!

Those big bumble-dee-bees are named Bruno. :)

[stuntcat]

13. those have run into me

The BIG bumblebees, it's like I'm in their way out there. Brunos for real.. I'll remember to give them B names, Bruno and Boris and Buster.. Bubba :headbang:

[bertha katzenengel]

15. Ah - Boris is a giant hairy spider.

Perhaps another name you could use is Bertha. ;)

[stuntcat]

24. ok, now you've done it

I bet I'll call everyone of them Bertha from now on! lol

[driver8]

7. Wonderful photos!!

Mother Nature is amazing, isn't she??

[Mrs. Venation]

8. Thank You

Yes, I really enjoy nature photography. There are always interesting subjects to shoot. It won't be long until I'll be shooting the changing leaves just outside our office window. There's a sassafras tree there that I try to shoot every autumn.

[Sanity Claws]

10. Beautiful!

The photos are great but so are the colors in your garden.
Is the blue shrub called Blue Mist? I used to have a Blue Mist -- absolutely stunning in the summer and fall and attractive to bees. It was a very prolific shrub and had many offsprings.
I don't recognize the second shrub at all. Do you know what it is?

[Mrs. Venation]

12. Hmmmm

I honestly don't know what the blue shrub is; could be Blue Mist. The shrub with the yellow blossoms is Golden Butterfly Bush. The butterflies and the hummingbirds love it.

[NJmaverick]

11. Very nice

what kind of camera did you use?

[Mrs. Venation]

14. Thank You

Nikon D80 digital SLR with a Nikkor 18 - 135 mm lens.

[southpaw]

16. Gorgeous!!!

Thanks for sharing these pics! They are beautiful.

My creepy-crawly pics tend toward spiders and lizards!

[Mrs. Venation]

18. Thank You

I was really lucky to be able to get these shots today. I don't ordinarily sit out on the porch for a teleconference. Today is such a beautiful day I took advantage of time away from the keyboard to get outside.

I have a photo of a hidden frog that was shot at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge:



Great camouflage job, isn't it!

[southpaw]

19. CUTE!!!!

A wee toadlet!

[BrklynLiberal]

17. WOW! Those are fantastic pics!!!!

I have lots of Monarchs near me now..but I have never seen that butterfly...
It almost looks like a faded Monarch. The closeups are just jaw-dropping. Thanks for posting.

not my pic...just to show others what the Monarch looks like...

[Mrs. Venation]

20. Thank You

I think the one I shot is a Yellow Swallowtail.

[mike_c]

26. I think it's more likely the eastern tiger swallowtail, Papilio glaucus....

The yellow swallowtail (Papilio machaon) usually has a bright red spot near the base of the hindwing "tails." Beautiful pics, BTW.

[Mrs. Venation]

27. Thank You, mike_c

I'm much better at identifying birds than insects. I was just so fabulously lucky to be able to capture this beautiful little fellow today.

Bertha said I didn't post the best of the shots I got, so maybe I'll ask her to post some more.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

21. My dear Mrs. Venation!

Wow!

I am truly impressed!

This sort of pic is very hard to do...

Thank you for sharing them with all of us!

:hug:

[Mrs. Venation]

22. Thank You, Peggy

I'm so glad you take pleasure from them. I was uncomfortably close to the bees, given that I am allergic to their stings, but they were so beautiful I couldn't stop myself.

[mnhtnbb]

23. Wow! Great pics! Can't imagine getting both the butterfly and bee in the same frame!

:applause:

[yellowdogintexas]

25. just gorgeous nt

[easttexaslefty]

28. so beautiful......

[auntAgonist]

29. oh wow!

Those photographs are gorgeous MrsV! :hug:
I wish mine would turn out so beautifully.

good to see you posting.

:loveya:

aA
kesha

[Mrs. Venation]

31. Thank You, Kesha

It's nice to see you, too.

I got really lucky with those pics. Timing, lighting, everything was a pure stroke of good fortune.

:loveya: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:

[Maestro]

30. Gorgeous

I really like the bee on flower series!

[Mrs. Venation]

32. Wow! I'm Flattered

You get the most extraordinary photos, Maestro. I am thrilled by your praise.

Sometimes we just get lucky, being at the right place at the right time. Thank goodness they're bumble bees. Bumble bees are not aggressive, and I could get really close to them without worrying about being stung.

I'll post more of the series when I have time.

Mrs. V.

[Maestro]

33. I love looking at others' pics.

With the latest hummingbird pics I got, I was sitting in a patch of huge sunflowers with these same bumble bees. They literally were tickling my ears at times, but, like you say, they are aggressive and I did not worry about getting stung.