Images

Cicindela scutellaris - the Festive Tiger Beetle, found on top of a butte in Badlands National Park that had ancient windblown sand at its crest, very different from the rest of the gumbo soils of the park. Here this sand specialist can build its long burrows. Experimenting with using Black Velvet as a background ...

Dead Field Sparrow, Spizella pusilla, that sadly ran into the windows of a building in Washington D.C. while migrating.

I love bird feet...Here is the curved, plated, semi-reptilian presentation of a lost dinosaur in the form of a Field Sparrow that lost its life running into a window at night in Washington D.C. during migration.

A foot, a beautiful foot, a foot of a beautiful Field Sparrow, Spizella pusilla, that ran into the windows of a building in Washington D.C. while migrating.

Dead Field Sparrow, Spizella pusilla, that sadly ran into the windows of a building in Washington D.C. while migrating.

Here is a Field Sparrow that lost its life running into a window at night in Washington D.C. during migration. This one picked up by the Lights out Washington group that counts birds that strike buildings at night in the relatively low buildings surrounding the Capitol and the Mall.

Beltsville, Maryland, 2012, Flavopermelia caperata

Experimental Shot: Daisyfleabane dipped in Butterfly scales

Experimental Shot: Daisy Fleabane dipped in Butterfly scales, close up it is wonderful to see all the sizes, shapes, and sheens, lots of hard geometry that makes me want to work more with scales.

Yellow-shafted Flicker - Died in downtown Washington D.C. in the fall or spring of 2012 from striking a building at night. Retrieved by the Lights out DC program

Older and no so great shots (technically speaking) of Florilegus condignus. You can see tons of butterfly scales on this specimen from who knows what species were caught with it at the same time. You will find that Florilegus only collects pollen from pickerelweed (Pontedaria).

I heart Pickerelweed would read the bumper sticker on this bee as the female pictured here would only feed her babies pollen collected from the interior of marshes with blooming Pickerelweed. This one was collected as part of a survey of Indian Head Naval Base just south of Washington D.C.

Older and no so great shots (technically speaking) of Florilegus condignus. You can see tons of butterfly scales on this specimen from who knows what species were caught with it at the same time. You will find that Florilegus only collects pollen from pickerelweed (Pontedaria).

Older and no so great shots (technically speaking) of Florilegus condignus. You can see tons of butterfly scales on this specimen from who knows what species were caught with it at the same time. You will find that Florilegus only collects pollen from pickerelweed (Pontedaria).

An uncommon specialist on Pontedaria (Pickerelweed) in this case trapped by Matt Greenstone at the US National Arboretum and a first record for the city.

An uncommon specialist on Pontedaria (Pickerelweed) in this case trapped by Matt Greenstone at the US National Arboretum and a first record for the city.

An uncommon specialist on Pontedaria (Pickerelweed) in this case trapped by Matt Greenstone at the US National Arboretum and a first record for the city.

Fluorite crystal. An experimental shot from some material given to me by the Geology Division at USGS. Realizing that I need to wash these specimens before taking their pictures! Right now just playing around with light set ups and photoshopping...comments welcome. Photograph by Brooke Alexender.

Muscid fly of some sort, floating in Hand Sanitizer

Unknown species of fly, Fossil Butte National Monument, Wyoming, 2012

A Syrphid fly in the genus Microdon. A lovely bee mimic and one that I had not seen before. Critters in the Genus Microdon complete their larval life cycle inside ant nests.