All Multimedia

Here we present a series of pictures of Polistes wasp nests with lavae, pupae, eggs, and interlopers.

Here we present a series of pictures of Polistes wasp nests with lavae, pupae, eggs, and interlopers.

Here we present a series of pictures of Polistes wasp nests with lavae, pupae, eggs, and interlopers.

Here we present a series of pictures of Polistes wasp nests with lavae, pupae, eggs, and interlopers.

Here we present a series of pictures of Polistes wasp nests with lavae, pupae, eggs, and interlopers.

Here we present a series of pictures of Polistes wasp nests with lavae, pupae, eggs, and interlopers.

The Very tubular Solomon's Seal. A lovely bedding plant for your shady yard spots. Specimen and photo by Helen Lowe Metzman.

10X shot of seed/flower head of Tufted Knotweed or Oriental Lady's Thumb, Polygonum cespitosum. Lovely form for this very weedy plant. Pulled from my backyard in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Damselflies, two nymphs, Beltsville, Maryland floating in Hand Sanitizer

Beltsville, Maryland, damselfly nymph, unknown species, Floating in hand sanitizer

Damselfly in Hand Sanitizer, Beltsville, Maryland

Water Strider, Gerridae, Beltsville, Maryland, Suspended in Hand Sanitzer

Ah, such an interesting plant for bees. Pontedaria cordata....Pickerelweed. Lives out in fairly deep water, emerges in the spring...sends up a spike of blue flowers in mid-summer. This plant is very attractive to long-tongued bees which have to reach way down to get nectar and pollen.

Ah, such an interesting plant for bees. Pontedaria cordata....Pickerelweed. Lives out in fairly deep water, emerges in the spring...sends up a spike of blue flowers in mid-summer. This plant is very attractive to long-tongued bees which have to reach way down to get nectar and pollen.

Japanese Beetle, Maryland, Beltsville, Popillia japonica, July 2012

Japanese Beetle, Maryland, Beltsville, Popillia japonica, July 2012, pretty spiffy for a pest we never both to look closely at

Japanese Beetle, Maryland, Beltsville, Popillia japonica, July 2012

Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy. Dial it one way and you have the raw ingredients for all sorts of natural opiates, dial it another and you have poppy seeds for your bagel. Irregardless of you personal choices the seeds are indeed lovely when viewed from 10X.

Ant, The Winter Ant, Prenolepis imparis, aka False HoneyPot ant. This is the head of the male. Small, taken with 10X microscope objective on a 200mm Pentax. Found this past spring in a swarm by Jan Reese who noticed Cedar Waxwings munching on the males in St. Michael's Maryland. Another day in the life of Earth.

A male alate or the winged reproductive form of the normally wingless ant group. The species is currently unknown, but we have it sent off to someone for identification.

20X Lens Tests. I am posting 3 pictures taken with a "new" 20X Mitutoyo Plan Apo Infinity Corrected Long WD Microscope Objective attached to an old 200mm Pentax lens. This allows me to start getting into some extreme stack territory. That said this lens new is over \$2000.00 U.S. However, I found a scratched one on Ebay for \$300.00.