Another Late Summer Walk With My Macro Lens
It’s late Summer and here in Northeastern Pennsylvania that means mushroom season. Last Friday I decided to take a quick hike and search for edible wild mushrooms. Once again I struck out finding any mushrooms but was able to capture some more of the beauty of nature with my macro lens. 
On this hike I came upon some wild mint and goldenrod plants, The mint flowers attract a number of wasps, bees, yellow jackets, flies and butterflies. 
These stinging insects are feared by many but they all serve a purpose in nature. And viewed up close they have an intricate beauty.The insects pollinate the flowers as can be seen by the full pollen sacs on this bee. 
There were many species of wasps, 
and yellow jackets. 
A few butterflies 
and even ordinary flies visited the late season flowers. 
I continued my walk and found more late summer flowers such as these sticktights,
these tufted knotweed ,
purple loosestrife and 
clover. 
Among the flowers found on my hike were also a number of beetles including this black one which I have not seen before.
This pair of mating beetles are common on the goldenrod late in the summer. 
Here is another unusual beetle I hadn’t seen before. It always amazes me at the variety of insect life found in such a small area. 
Many trees, shrubs and plants are producing berries this time of year. The brilliant red berries of the autumn olive,
and nightshade were growing along the trails as I continued my hike.
I didn’t find any of the species of wild mushrooms I eat but the uncovering the beauty of nature in the insect world was reward enough for me. Here is a link to some more photographs from my hike. Macro lens hike September 5 2019.
“The botanist should make interest with the bees if he would know when the flowers open and when they close”
– Henry David Thoreau
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