Below is a compilation of a few tiny creatures I’ve come across in the last week or so. All photos were taken using a macro lens on my iPhone. This is a carpet beetle in the genus Anthrenus, likely Anthrenus verbasci, in the flower of a China girl holly. Adults of this species eat pollen, so it’s a logical place to find this one. For those unfamiliar with the scale of holly flowers, this beetle is tiny – only a…
Continuing my macro explorations from my previous posts (if you missed them, check them out here and here) I switched my focus to wildflowers. Admittedly, January isn’t the most obvious time to go looking for flowers, but many of our local species have persistent seed heads that can be found through the winter. And some of these, as you’ll see, are quite intricate when observed up close. And in at least one case, some flowers already have their spring buds ready…
As mentioned in my previous post, I recently received a new macro lens attachment for my cell phone. It’s been really fun to wander around my yard and nearby trails with this new close-up perspective. Some things are obviously enhanced by a zoomed-in look, such as insects, moss, lichens and other “tiny” things. But I’ve also really enjoyed a new look at things you wouldn’t necessarily assume you need a macro lens to observe, like trees and shrubs. Below are…