[jabobby]

Wow mohb, awesome shot with the Tamy 90, tough for me to follow that with my tele macro shot with the DFA 150-450 lens.
Best Regards, Bob

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[TER-OR]

More action on Joe Pye Weed, all males:

The Federally-recognized endangered Bombus affinis.


The Kleptoparasitic Bombus citrinus:


The common Bombus griseocolis:

[lukulele]

Around Alleghany County the last few days. More Monarchs than I've seen in the last five years

[DW58]

Around Alleghany County the last few days. More Monarchs than I've seen in the last five years

That's great news. Our western Monarch population took a big hit last year. Down 86% by most estimations.

[jabobby]

At least I assume it is a Bombus, don't know much about them. They only stay at the flower for a fraction of a second and it took me many tries to manual focus on one of these puppies. Taken with the SMC-A 645 120/f4 @ f5.6
Best Regards, Bob

[timb64]

DA 16-85 WR

[aslyfox]

for those interested, the annual Monarch Butterfly migration is starting soon or may be ongoing in your local area now:

Peak Migration Dates: When will the migration peak in my area?

The following table provides a general guideline for when good numbers of monarchs should be observed at each latitude. These predictions are derived from reports to Monarch Watch, first-hand observations and the records of thousands of tagged butterflies that have been recovered over the years. The migration record at specific locations for any given year may differ from this overall pattern but it has proven to be remarkably consistent when viewed as a large-scale phenomenon. As such, it has a phenology and it's predictable. Notice that we have used midpoint as a predicted date rather than a mean. We don't have enough information on the flow of the migration to generate a mean. Further, the distribution of the migrants appears not to be a normal bell-shaped curve but a curve that is shifted strongly to the left. Hence, when estimating the time of peak abundance below we have used a 12-day interval with 7 days before the midpoint and 4 days after the midpoint.

As mentioned above, this is a general pattern. It is likely to be modified by weather patterns that retard, such as strong southwesterly winds, or advance the migration, such as a series of rapidly moving cold fronts arriving from the northwest. Similarly, the pattern of the migration is likely to be modified along the coasts due to strong head winds or storms that have the effect of sweeping monarchs toward the coast on the backside of fronts.

Midpoints and peaks of the migration by latitude.

Peak Monarch Migration Dates

you might also be able to find a local monarch butterfly tagging location by contacting a local zoo or park system or elementary school

[jacamar]

On a productive mint patch:

Giant Swallowtail





Monarch



There was a Painted Lady as well but I couldn't get a clear shot. (Cross - posted)

[zzeitg]

FA 50mm f/1.7

[DW58]

They love the Asters. Cross posted.

[DW58]

Bumble bee with a lot of patience waiting for Narrowleaf Milkweed to open.

[atupdate]

Giant Swallowtail.



Black Swallowtail.



Tim

[swanlefitte]

I was going for the hummingbird but it flew off when I showed up.

[jabobby]

In the past week and a half I have seen 6 to 12 monarchs every day. A couple of days as many as 14. Sure is nice to see so many moving thru. The mourning cloak is one of my favorite for its beautiful colors.
Best Regards, Bob

[atupdate]

Sunflowers were a little sparse this year due to the wet spring.



But the pollinators enjoyed what was there.


Tim