Comments on: Large Milkweed Bug

By: tceisele

tceisele — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:01:58 +0000

Yep, if you want to get cameras significantly better than Canon Powershots for insect photography, you are going to pay dearly for them. As Alex Wild puts it:

“So don’t say I didn’t warn you, months from now when you find yourself destitute, living in the street, your savings turned into lenses and flash units.”

By: JFargo

JFargo — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:41:58 +0000

You know Steve, I was going to say that I was surprised you don’t already have one, and then I started looking into prices for just the base models, not even including higher quality lenses.

Yowch!

I’ll be the nymphs would have been very cool to see though.

Hopefully those monarch caterpillars will be heading your way soon! Should make for some cool pictures.

By: Steve Jackson

Steve Jackson — Thu, 22 May 2008 05:51:18 +0000

(waves to Scott) Thanks! I appreciate your making it possible for me still not to have a real job!

JFargo: Yep. That is Antelope-Horn Milkweed, Asclepias asperula, in the phase that gave it its common name. I keep my eye on it because it’s a host plant for monarch caterpillars. In this case, it hosted something else. Another pod had a huge swarm of bright-orange milkweed bug nymphs, but my darned little PowerShot didn’t want to focus on them. Need . . . DSLR . . .

By: JFargo

JFargo — Wed, 21 May 2008 20:18:45 +0000

Very cool picture, and story of identification. I’d like to point out that I’m pretty sure that’s a milkweed pod that the insect is actually sitting on, which makes me think that you’ve got the ID correct…

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:08:35 +0000

Bugs aside, how awesome is it that Steve Jackson is a contributor. I loved the Lord of the Rings M… What? Oh I’ve misidentified him? Easy enough mistake to make.

Srsly it is cool that SJ is a contributor. I was a big gaming geek in college.