We found this tiny little striped bug in South Florida, USA. It had a silken brown cocoon which it dragged behind it. It was a tiny little larva with minuscule legs, and its cocoon had two entrances. It would hide inside, then emerge out of either end to begin moving along.
I’ve never seen a bug like it, and would love to know what it is. Updated 6/4/10: it’s a plaster bagworm, and that wasn’t its cocoon, but its home — and it’s a pest. Thanks Andrew!
We found this strange-looking bug in our garden in Southern Transilvania, Romania. It’s about 1 cm in length, with small hairs that grow out of bumps on its back. It’s got six legs, and it moves fairly fast.
I found out, thanks to beansmail, that it’s the larva of the asian ladybug, also known as Harmonia axyridis.
Formed who knows when, by the collapse of a cavern, Natural Bridge, located in Virginia, is a monument that has been admired by people for over two centuries.
Legend has it that George Washington surveyed it in his youth, for Lord Fairfax. What we do know for sure is that Thomas Jefferson bought it, built a log cabin nearby, and upon his death, left it to his heirs, who later sold it.
The property (157 acres) changed hands over the course of time, gaining more and more public attention, until in 1988, it was declared a National Historic Landmark by the US Department of the Interior.
Although it has remained in private hands till today, it has been open to the public since the early 1800s, and it has been developed in such a way that visiting tourists may find plenty to do while they’re there. Continue reading
In my book, there are only a handful of things that rank as high as taking a walk in nature, in the midst of soft, lightly glowing morning fog. This was one of those beautiful mornings I won’t soon forget.
Photos taken in the Virginia countryside, near the very interesting rock formation called Natural Bridge.
Here’s a HD (720p) field video test I recently did with the PEN E-P2, the diminutive DSLR from Olympus. I shot it in South Florida, and it features tropical plants and flowers. No additional equipment beside the camera and the 14-42mm kit lens was used. The sound you hear is from the in-camera microphone. The DSLR was hand-held, and I had motion-stabilization turned off.
When I edited the video, I tweaked the colors just a little bit, but the images are pretty much right out of the camera. No software motion stabilization was used, either. You’ll see that the kit lens is quite capable of macro shots and it gives beautiful bokeh under the right conditions. There’s even a surprise shot at the end. Try to guess what it is.
You can watch the video on YouTube. And if you haven’t yet read my full review of the E-P2, you might want to check it out.
Raoul Pop 