Flying into the fangs of danger

Damselflies are nimble predators of other insects, but even predators can become the hunted if they are not careful.  The damselfly pictured below appears to be suspended in flight...

A slender spreadwing damselfly (Lestes rectangularis) hanging in mid-air?

...because it is suspended -- from the spider web it had just flown into.  As usually happens when something becomes tangled in a spider's web, the spider quickly approached to secure its prey.

A spider approaches the damselfly caught in its web.

The damselfly was not about to be taken without a struggle, however.

The damselfly attempts to evade the spider.

By beating its large wings, the damselfly was able to force itself free from the web just in time.  A similar encounter must have occurred between the dragonfly and spider pictured below, but with a very different ending.  Apparently, having strong wings is not always enough to escape becoming a meal for a spider.

A giant lichen spider (Araneus bicentenarius) with a dragonfly in its web.

The early bee and the flower, continued

Though a few bees collected nectar from the peony buds, the flowers had much more to offer once they were fully open.  In addition to nectar, the flowers produced large quantities of pollen, which was a big attraction to visitors such as the leafcutter bee (Megachile sp.) pictured below.  Unlike bumble bees and honey bees, which pack pollen onto their hind legs, this leafcutter bee is collecting pollen on the underside of its abdomen.

Pollen was not the only thing waiting inside the flowers, however.  One of the peonies contained an unpleasant surprise that threatened to make any visiting bee permanently late.

A crab spider (Misumena vatia) ready to ambush visitors to the peony.

A lazy Sunday afternoon

The foxes seemed to be active at all hours.  I saw them at dawn, throughout the day, and after sunset.  From hearing their eerie calls, I knew that they were up late into the night as well.   However, the foxes had to take breaks from eliminating the local gray squirrel population every once in a while.  One afternoon, we spotted a fox resting in a shady spot in the middle of the lawn.

The fox resting in the shade.

To see the fox napping -- and what interrupted its nap -- watch the video below.

* To see this video in high definition (1080p), you may need to: 

(1) click "YouTube" to watch on the YouTube website

(2) change the settings at the bottom of the video screen