Sunday, July 14, 2013

Sunday Stills - Bugs

Looks like we'll be baling a little bit of hay either Sunday or Monday and a whole bunch of hay on Tuesday - weather and machinery permitting.   I do sometimes wonder, when the weather forecasters mess up as bad as they did this weekend, why there aren't mobs of angry farmers with pitchforks howling at their doors.  I guess it's because the farmers are all too busy trying to salvage what they can. 

Ah well, on to bugs... there is actually an interesting little bug crawling up my computer screen as I type this, do you think if I hit the screen capture key he'll show up on your screen?  Yeah, me neither, but I bet you're all thinking about him now and that's almost the same thing right?:)

I found this giant moth out in the woods a few weeks ago. 

Sadly, it was already dead, but look at the size of it.

And some honey bees from earlier in the season.

Check out this swarm.  I was quite excited about this, got out one of my hive boxes and shook them all down into it thinking I'd have a nice new colony.  Darned bees waited till my back was turned for a moment and they all took off for parts unknown. 

It's probably just as well, I haven't been able to keep a hive alive for more than a year ever since the farm down the road started growing corn.  The pesticides coating all of the seed is killing our bees.  The beekeepers know it, most farms know it, the more sensible governments know it and have banned the stuff in most of the world.  The stuff is very profitable though, so no one knows what's killing the honeybees.

10 comments:

  1. Great shots and what a beautiful moth! It sure is big and you've captured it so great! Stunning shots of the bees as well and yes it is sad that they are dying out like that. Silly people with their silly pesticides!

    Thanks for the lovely visit and comment on my blog as well. Much appreciated. :D

    PS: Love your header! It's gorgeous! :D

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  2. Excellent shots, I really liked the hive pic..:-)

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  3. That moth is stunning.
    About the bee genocide being carried out by Monsanto and the like - it IS making the news worldwide... I just hope that enough people make enough noise to force them to stop NOW

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  4. I've noticed the remarkable lack of honeybees around our place. We are surrounded by cornfields.

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  5. Good thing all those bees didn't take off after you!! Beautiful moth too. :)

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  6. Nice moth. I sure wish Monsanto would be banned here- maybe once there are no bees left to pollinate the crops they'll get the idea!

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  7. I'm glad you were able to enjoy the beauty of that moth, even though he was dead. They're so fragile! Your pesticide experience is a horror story. I grew up on the east coast of Florida, and in summers way back then the "mosquito trucks" came through the neighborhoods and even the drive-in spraying DDT in a heavy fog that captivated us kids. At home we chased the truck...why? I don't remember! I guess we thought it was fun.

    Nancy in Iowa

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  8. Great Moth. Cecropia Moth. And, I just learned that they are a north American silk moth. Now that is really cool.
    Too bad the bees took off. They were probably safer with you than where ever they went!

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  9. I confess I would have taken the moth home to sit on my mantle so I could continue to admire it. I am a shameless scavenger of such beauty.

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  10. It is really nice with bees. Got one swarm here at home also so I called the beecharmer to come and catch them. They are still by them.

    You have a very nice blog and many interesting things to read. Your domain is .se - do you come from Sweden?

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