Horsemint Host

Gallery: FloraPosted May 22, 2012105 views14 comments

The Purple Horsemint Wildflower is host to countless insects.
AKA - Lemon beebalm, Horsemint, Purple Horsemint, Lemon Mint, Plains Horsemint, and Lemon Horsemint.
I was trying to catch a hummer near a concentrated area of these wildflowers. Instead I found myself shooting the flower when insects appeared or flew near..
F/6.3, 1/500th, ISO 400, 1D M3, 300mm f/2.8 + 1.4x ext and mostly cloudy.

Post Script - There's a crab spider up top with its tiny fly prey, and a Halloween Harvestman below.

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Barb Pflaum on May 22, 2012 at 11:27 AM

Beautiful flower and interesting insect. Great comp and bg. Nicely done.

Registered on January 14, 2009, 316 Posts, 2724 Comments

Comment posted by David Schwaegler on May 22, 2012 at 12:15 PM

Fascinating. I especially like the spider near the bottom. Well done.

Registered on December 4, 2003, 232 Posts, 1652 Comments

Comment posted by Nathan Buck on May 22, 2012 at 2:30 PM

A very interesting flower - and interesting to see all of the bugs in the flower too Howard.

Nathan

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1101 Posts, 13589 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on May 22, 2012 at 4:13 PM

An elegant plant. You have captured it well, and I really appreciate the nature lesson.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Sally Wood on May 22, 2012 at 7:15 PM

Very beautiful colors and composition here.. detail is great, although I must say I cringe when it comes to spiders.......

Registered on March 8, 2012, 39 Posts, 509 Comments

Comment posted by Carolyn Derstine on May 22, 2012 at 8:03 PM

This flower has quite an interesting design to it; I like the mixture of purples and the tiered look of the flower. Nice comp and good DOF to get details on the flower with a blurred background. The little critters add an extra touch of interest. Wish for just a touch more space at the bottom of the photo. Even though you didn't get your hummer you still got a great photo, Howard.

Registered on February 16, 2011, 610 Posts, 3684 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on May 22, 2012 at 8:32 PM

Neat shot. The purples are outstanding and I like how the flower leans through the frame. It's an amazing flower with the mixture of solid and spotted purples. That "thing"

at the bottom is totally different from the assassin bugs that I found around here last year.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on May 22, 2012 at 9:23 PM

Lots to look at, but the nice clean background helps it all come together very well. The flower is nicely rendered against the BG, and I like the interest added by the two spiders.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on May 23, 2012 at 12:36 AM

Howard:
Fabulous capture of this flower (not personally seen one before). Like the positioning, the different stage of blooming and the very clean bg. Yes the bugs are added bonuses - they blend in so nicely that I did not see them at first.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments

Comment posted by Miro Susta on May 23, 2012 at 9:22 AM

Very nice flower excellently framed in vertical format. The bug at the bottom? Additional bonus. Well done Howard.

Registered on August 18, 2006, 719 Posts, 3736 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lowe on May 24, 2012 at 1:49 PM

Very interesting looking flower that I'm not familiar with. You've captured it nicely with the couple of critters as a added bonus.

Registered on February 11, 2004, 777 Posts, 5252 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on May 24, 2012 at 4:34 PM

There's a lot to see in this image and it's very nicely composed, Howard.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on May 25, 2012 at 3:17 PM

Howard: Great complementary BG and overall a very pleasing color palette. I like the party crashers as well. Nicely done.>=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Lorna Taylor on May 28, 2012 at 11:06 AM

Very nice, love the little spider as well ! Great comp. and BG !

Registered on November 12, 2010, 254 Posts, 3083 Comments