2016



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Chorus Cicada, Amphipsalta zelandica, Ngaruawahia NZ
Prickly Stick Insect, Ngaruawahia NZ
Fireflies, Maryland USA
Night Sky, Ngaruawahia NZ
Glowworms, Ngaruawahia NZ
Mothing, Pennsylvania USA
Rosy Maple Moth, Pennsylvania USA
Sawfly Larvae, Pennsylvania USA
Dogbane beetle, Pennsylvania USA
Raglan NZ
Taranaki NZ
Chironomid, Queensland Australia
Orlando Florida USA
Allegheny Mound Ants, Maryland USA
Honey bee with RFID tag, Bay of Plenty NZ
Bumble bee with radio transmitter, Ruakura NZ
Forked sundew with crane fly, Ngaruawahia NZ
Tui on flax flower, Ngaruawahia NZ
















Better late than never: 2015



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A yellow-faced bee (Hylaeus sp.) on Jeju Island, South Korea
2015 was full of travel, research, and changes.  My library from the year contains some 14 thousand images - and it seems I've been increasingly photographing the people around me as well as the fauna.  That said, hominids have never been the primary focus of this page, so here are selections from the year covering some other taxa across a few locations.

Rangitoto from Tiritiri Matangi, NZ
North Island Saddleback, Tiritiri Matangi NZ

Queensland, Australia

Hihi, Tiritiri Matangi, NZ

Long-nosed Lycid Beetle, Queensland, Australia

Dainty Green Tree Frog (Litoria gracilenta), Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia

Kereru with Puriri fruit, Goat Island, NZ

Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia

Juvenile Green and Gold Bell Frog (Litoria aurea), Hamilton, NZ

Tuatara, Otorohanga NZ


One year, one post: the best of 2014



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The cabbage tree looper, Epiphryne verriculata is well camouflaged (when correctly oriented) on the old leaves of its Cordyline host plant.  Hamilton, NZ

In my annual reflection on the previous year I almost always seem to comment on just how busy I was.  2014 was the same, and as a result this is my first post pertaining to that year gone by!  I enjoyed a challenging and rewarding year studying pollination with the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, and in my free time I put in many hours working on manuscripts for publication and finishing some contracts from my freelance entomology days.  All this meant that I was more likely to relax with some music or a novel than with computer screens and blog-writing, but I haven't set down the camera and I miss regular insect outreach!

I hope that 2014 has treated you well, and that you will enjoy a few of my favorite shots from last year!

A Tetragonula stingless bee collects pollen from Macadamia flowers.  Northern NSW, Australia

Cruising Salvin's albatross. Kaikoura NZ

Good for your eyes? A tabanid fly visiting carrot flowers is covered with grains of pollen. Canterbury, NZ

Head first.  The endemic New Zealand mantis Orthodera novaezealandiae devours a crane fly.  Hamilton, NZ

A raphidophorid weta ovipositing. Pukemokemoke, NZ

The slender owlet moth Rhapsa scotosialis is a common forest moth in NZ.  The males and females are somewhat dissimilar in appearance.  Pukemokemoke, NZ

Tree frog. Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia


The weevil Rhadinosomus acuminatus whose Latin name more or less translates to "fragile-bodied long, tapered."  At first I was annoyed that this one had a broken antenna but now I think it's rather fitting.  Waihi Beach, NZ

Aptly named 'emerald lakes' near the summit of Mt. Tongariro.  Tongariro NP, NZ

Sunrise at Lake Mattheson with Aoraki shrouded in cloud.  Near Fox Glacier, NZ

Favourites of 2013



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Stick insect on Kahikatea, Hamilton, New Zealand
2013 was full of changes... A new job, new town, new country, new hemisphere.  Photography and blogging took a back seat during the process of moving to New Zealand.  I've learned to drive on the left side of the road, add the letter u to a bunch of new words, and identify many new trees, birds, and insects.  With all that going on, 2013 was the first year in a while that I haven't added any photography gear to my collection, aside from a new phone with a much better point-and-shoot than I'm accustomed to.  It was a really busy 365 days, but hopefully I still got a few shots that you will enjoy.  Here are my favorites:
Green vegetable bug, Nelson, NZ
I think I've seen as many nice sunsets in 10 months in NZ as I have in the rest of my life elsewhere.  Waikato region, NZ
My wife is an ecologist studying how late successional trees grow and contribute to ecosystem function in urban forests.  Brook Waimarama Sanctuary, Nelson, NZ
A NZ Blue Hover Fly visits an avocado flower, Bay of Plenty, NZ



Volunteers plant 25 thousand trees at Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park in Hamilton, New Zealand


Snail on Harakeke, Hamilton, NZ
Kaka, Maungatautari, New Zealand

Researchers run some late night experiments with Kiwifruit pollination, Waikato, NZ

Tunnel web spider, Pukemokemoke, New Zealand


NZ giraffe weevil, Maungatautari, NZ
NZ sundew with prey, Rangitoto Island, New Zealand

I had it narrowed down to 12 photos, but had some time to shoot on the last day of the year, so I'll post a baker's dozen.  I'm looking forward to sharing more in 2014!

Boulder bank, Nelson, NZ

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