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The day the frogs were happy

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Justme

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As a kid, ever wish you lived right next door to an icecream shop or candy store? Of course :-) I guess the froggy equivalent would be insects 24/7.

How about a hornets nest next to a frog pond? I can hear all the little green frogs going "ribbet....whoohoo.....ribbet".

Some of the frogs lined up at the entrance watching mesmerized as hornets flew in and out. Some made intermittent leaps right at the buzzing hornets. Others waited patiently for the winged meals to come to them.

http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/image/117004005/original

At the right moment, make the big leap!

http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/image/117005875/original

The frog strategy was to catch and run (er, leap). Some dove into the water while others just made a few quick hops to safety. The hornets didn't attack the frogs for the most part. After snatching a hornet or two the frog would just stay motionless. The hornets would hover but did not see any sting. Except this one time when a hornet hoverd over a frogs head and appaered to be digging a stinger into its eye. The frogs eye-lid looks closed but shortly after this photo was taken the frog leapt into the water quick. Message received. Don't steal from the candy store.

http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/image/117007020/original

All photos taken with a Canon 40D and 70-200 2.8L + TC 1.4x. No stings. BTW, can you make out what type of hornet it is?

xx
xx

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I know you mean well but please do not embed my images into the forum. Thanks for respecting that.
http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/some_recent_shots
http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/a_red_fox_family

 
Very interesting. Nice catches.
 
Great shots. But I don't like looking at the last one :)

Those might be European paper wasps. We have tons of those around here these days. We used to have the larger American paper wasps but the European variety has been taking over the last few years. I think this has happened throughout the US.

The European ones come out earlier in the spring and therefore compete more successfully. They make a different looking nest and are smaller than the ones we used to have around here.

Do you have any photos of the nest? That's fairly good data for seeing which kind they are.

Also, it's possible that I'm totally off on my guess as to what kind of wasp that is :)

--
Jim H.
 
Justme wrote:
BTW, can you make out what type of hornet it is?

I think it's a Yellow Jacket, I have tons of them in my yard every year where they built nests on my house. Rather than spay them with chemicals, I use a garden hose to knock the nests down. My neighbor thinks I'm crazy. :D

I came across one while cleaning my rain gutters. I thought I had hit a thorn so I pulled my hand out of the gutter to find one of those really digging in. I shook her off toward the ground and didn't think much of it until the next day when my finger was the size of my thumb. It didn't hurt so much as itch. The itching sensation was beyond description - like a dozen mosquito bites all in the same place. It took about four days for the swelling to go down so I would be surprised if that frog didn't loose its eye and perhaps the others died from internal stings. Unlike a honey bee, a wasp can sting multiple times.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_jacket

Don

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Facinating, and excellent.Your posts are always worth a look. Cheers, Jon
 
Nice shots there. No wonder they're after those wasps, look at the first photo, that frog looks half starved, his bones are sticking out.
 
JimH said:
Great shots. But I don't like looking at the last one :)
Click to expand...
Thanks Jim. It makes me cringe too.
JimH said:
Those might be European paper wasps. We have tons of those around here these days. We used to have the larger American paper wasps but the European variety has been taking over the last few years. I think this has happened throughout the US.

The European ones come out earlier in the spring and therefore compete more successfully. They make a different looking nest and are smaller than the ones we used to have around here.

Do you have any photos of the nest? That's fairly good data for seeing which kind they are.
Click to expand...
Here is a photo of the nest entrance. Two frogs are eyeing them. It's really funny to watch these frogs all sitting there, like they're in a trance, watching the hornets flying in and out of teh nest entrance.

http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/image/117042407/original

xx
xx
JimH said:
Also, it's possible that I'm totally off on my guess as to what kind of wasp that is :)

--
Jim H.
Click to expand...
--

I know you mean well but please do not embed my images into the forum. Thanks for respecting that.
http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/some_recent_shots
http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/a_red_fox_family

 
Guerito said:
Justme wrote:
BTW, can you make out what type of hornet it is?
Click to expand...
Here is a closer look at them. They may be Yellow-Jackets. Can you confirm?
http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/image/117043713/original
Guerito said:
I think it's a Yellow Jacket, I have tons of them in my yard every year where they built nests on my house. Rather than spay them with chemicals, I use a garden hose to knock the nests down. My neighbor thinks I'm crazy. :D

I came across one while cleaning my rain gutters. I thought I had hit a thorn so I pulled my hand out of the gutter to find one of those really digging in. I shook her off toward the ground and didn't think much of it until the next day when my finger was the size of my thumb. It didn't hurt so much as itch. The itching sensation was beyond description
Click to expand...
Guerito said:
  • like a dozen mosquito bites all in the same > place.
Click to expand...
I really dislike mosquitos with a passion and the sound they make especially when they are next to your ear. I would really hate to get stung by a Yellow Jacket. Shudder.
Guerito said:
It took about four days for the swelling to go down so I would be surprised if that frog didn't loose its eye and perhaps the others died from internal stings. Unlike a honey bee, a wasp can sting multiple times.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_jacket

Don

--



Feed Animal Shelter Cats For Free - Dogs Too!
http://www.freekibblekat.com/
Click to expand...
--

I know you mean well but please do not embed my images into the forum. Thanks for respecting that.
http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/some_recent_shots
http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/a_red_fox_family

 
Alvin Nunley said:
How much time do you spend getting all these great shots?
Click to expand...
Thanks Alvin. Let's put it this way. Time spent in the great outdoors with nature is time well spent :-)
Alvin Nunley said:
--
Taking pictures is easy, making them art is hard. (al nunley)
No Try, Do, or Do Not. (yoda)
Click to expand...
--

I know you mean well but please do not embed my images into the forum. Thanks for respecting that.
http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/some_recent_shots
http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/a_red_fox_family

 
Jeff Peterman said:
I bet you wished you'd had a 7D for this as obviously an obsolete camera can't > take good shots. ;)
Click to expand...
I'm not thinking too much about the 7D right now because I know i'll be several more weeks before I can get my hands on one. Plan to download the manual and study the various functions (normally I am not a manual reader - like to just go out there and shoot but the 7D has so many ways to set it up that it may help to read the manual).

I would definitely like to try shooting these frogs with the 7D and its 8fps. When watching the frogs snatch the wasps I barely make out the frog's pink tongue. It happens in a split second. Too fast for the eye. I was surprised to see it captured in photo #2 and the length of it. If not for the photo I would not have seen this.
Jeff Peterman said:
--
Jeff Peterman

Any insults, implied anger, bad grammar and bad spelling, are entirely unintentionalal. Sorry.
http://www.pbase.com/jeffp25
http://www.jeffp25.smugmug.com

Click to expand...
--

I know you mean well but please do not embed my images into the forum. Thanks for respecting that.
http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/some_recent_shots
http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/a_red_fox_family

 
Justme said:
Guerito said:
Justme wrote:
BTW, can you make out what type of hornet it is?
Click to expand...
Here is a closer look at them. They may be Yellow-Jackets. Can you confirm?
http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/image/117043713/original
Click to expand...
Yup, dems Yellow Jackets alright.
Justme said:
I really dislike mosquitos with a passion and the sound they make especially when they are next to your ear. I would really hate to get stung by a Yellow Jacket. Shudder.
Click to expand...
I'm with you. There have been many a day when I didn't go out shooting because of the mosquitos. Heck, I didn't cut the grass today because there wasn't a breeze - would have been eaten alive. The mosquito is one of only a few of God's creatures that I show no mercy.

Don

--



Feed Animal Shelter Cats For Free - Dogs Too!
http://www.freekibblekat.com/
 
Justme said:
I would definitely like to try shooting these frogs with the 7D and its 8fps. When watching the frogs snatch the wasps I barely make out the frog's pink tongue. It happens in a split second. Too fast for the eye. I was surprised to see it captured in photo #2 and the length of it. If not for the photo I would not have seen this.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you need a Casio EX-F1. ;)

Don

--



Feed Animal Shelter Cats For Free - Dogs Too!
http://www.freekibblekat.com/
 
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