I was sitting at my mac laptop wondering what I was going to upload for the last day of theme-purple when what should wander across my eyes than this little parasitic wasp, family Encyrtidae. I happened to be on 365 looking at another theme entry so out came the Nikon PS and here is my entry! Some cropping and a little level adjusting. She's still wandering across the screen as I'm typing this! Lol!
@jillpearce I'm an Entomologist and I could have minored in Botany. I worked at UC Riverside as a Research Associate until budget cuts had us jumping from lab to lab chasing funding. I work at a vector control agency as a vector ecologist now. I have an interest in all science but have been into reptiles, orchids, insects, cacti and succulents. I kept some Madagascan chameleons and bred them to the 3rd generation before I gave them up because of time constraints.
That is so exciting. Knowing the names of different areas of science is an amazing feast. I am currently trying to figure out what plants are best for the garden to attract insects and birds. I am an amateur due to being from England and I am still learning about plants and insects native to California and it is very overwhelming. Earlier in the year I went to a garden center and they gave me four plants that were suppose to attract hummingbirds. One has since died, two have only just flowered. Just wish there was a book about native plants in California that are drought tolerant! Sorry for going on!
@jillpearce There are lots of resources for drought tolerant and bird/insect attracting native plants. If you want to move the discussion to FB or e-mail let me know and I'll post the relevant user id or e address. Cheers!
@sj I have a collection of microscopes at home, I suspected what she was from years of sorting field collections of parasitic. After posting I caught her in a small vial and checked under a dissecting scope. She's fine, I'll release her this afternoon after a dinner of honey water. :)
Cool shot.