I’ve been checking on a patch of Dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum) and photographing insects on the flowers. Although the plant is poisonous to most mammals, including humans, the flowers are very attractive to insects. All parts of the plant are toxic to mammals and can cause cardiac arrest if eaten. It is a member of the Apocynaceae family and other plants in the family are also poisonous. Dogbane is a host plant for many insects, including the Snowberry Clearwing Moth. Although I found many species of flies, the lack of bees is quite concerning. Not much is known about most of these species, just a name and a distribution. It is fun and challenging photographing them; I used a 100mm f2.8 macro and a ringflash.
A soldier fly, Odontomyia cincta.Hobomok Skipper. Common Thick-leg Fly, Tropidia quadrata. This is a species of hover fly. Larvae are aquatic. Broad-headed Marsh Fly, Helophilus latifrons.Yellow-shouldered Drone Fly, Eristalis stipator.Clay-colored Leaf Beetle, Anomoea laticlavia. According to comments in BugGuide, larvae are myrmecophiles having an association with ants of the genus Formica.
It has been very typical Sonoran Desert winter weather, daytime highs in the 60’s and lows in the 40’s. Perfect, in my opinion. On New Year’s Day the forecast is for rain. I’ve been on a search for Black-chinned Sparrows, which I usually can find in the mountains around the area, but so far, I haven’t found any. The Ajo Mountain Loop Road in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is the best place to find them, but it is closed for repair until mid-January. I’ve been having some nice hikes though.
I was hiking on Child’s Mountain when I came to a large canyon, so I tried a Canyon Wren call. This one came right in. I get a thrill every time I can get a nice photo like this!On my hike up the slopes of Black Mountain (searching for Black-chinned Sparrows) I found another wintering Gray Vireo. A mother Javelina and her baby. I had to try the Horsehead Nebula again. Good nights for astrophotography have been somewhat limited. The few I’ve had have been with the 500 f4 lens mounted on the Losmandy. Next round of astro will be with the C8.The Jellyfish Nebula in Gemini. It has been a long time since I tried this one. It is a difficult object, very faint and in a rich star field. Some astrophotographers use software to remove the stars and artificial intelligence software to enhance the image. Images seen online that look really artificial are just that. AI software tends to add artifacts and other issues that I don’t really like. So, I avoid doing those things. This nebula, IC 443, is a huge supernova remnant. It is about 70 light years distant and from our perspective, larger than a full moon, but much too faint to see. The bright star in the upper right is Propus, also known as Tajat Prior, and also as η Geminorum.One of my favorites, M45, the Pleiades. This dark nebula is variously known as the Vulture Head, Baby Eagle Nebula, and officially LBN 777. It is located near the Pleiades.
