Slender Bog Orchid ~ Platanthera stricta (and friend)
July 1, 2017
June 20, 2017
An unusual pair
I was going to post some photos of the Baldy Mountain trail from last week, followed by some more of the 345 trail and then a bunch of wildflower species that just began to bloom. But then I ran into this unusual pair today and couldn’t resist posting a few photos of them. (My apologies to anyone who has an aversion to arachnids.)
I don’t understand exactly what the relationship is, but I see that the spider even has some of the orchid’s maroon color marking on its back. The crab spider wouldn’t leave the blossom even though I spent a half hour lying prone trying to steady the camera enough for a focused photo using both forearms, one hand and my hiking staff as a makeshift tripod with the lens only a couple of inches away from him. They must have some kind of mutually beneficial pact.
June 29, 2008
Tiny neighbors
A few evenings ago these little aircraft showed up near our back door, drawn by the fluorescent light from a bug zapper. Fortunately, they were too large to fit between the shield bars but stayed around long enough for a photo.
On a wood cutting trip into the high country on the same day, this Bear Grass blossom just had to be photographed with its tiny resident, a yellow Crab Spider.
We share this world with some interesting little neighbors!
Montana Outdoors 