It's quite cool, cloudy and windy today, so no photography.

Here are some recent images, starting with the Spring Azure blues. I've added extension tubes to my 300 mm f4 lens, allowing me to get a bit closer. Of course, with increased magnification, i need a higher shutter seed, and a smaller aperture to get any kind of depth of field. So far, everything has been shot by natural light. I might try some flash fill photography if I want to get really close.

Some folks recommend tripods, but most of the time, the insects are perched on tall grass stalks that weave with the slightest breeze. Achieving critical focus wouldn't be any easier, and quite often I find myself bending and twisting to get a shooting angle that minimizes a bad background or foreground obstructions. I'm a fanatical tripod guy for landscapes, but for these insect photos, a tripod would be pretty much an impediment.

Another of the small native bees, hard at work. You can see that he's collected a lot of pollen at this point. So cute!

A new dragonfly species, yet to be identified. I found an interesting relatively local website helpful in identifying local species of dragonflies, at http://littlebrownjobbies.blogspot.ca/2011/02/dragonflies-of-ontario.html. Possibly a dot tailed whiteface.

And another new one, similar to the four spotted skimmer.

 There is also a new species of butterfly in the hay field, in small numbers. They are more cautious than the Spring Azures, and this fuzzy picture is the best I could manage from my first encounter.  At least it should be useful for identification purposes. Likely a northern crescent.