Hummingbird Moth

Ok now, all you expert macro photographers out there, don't laugh at these.  Having bought a macro lens, I've started to try and capture some images of insects like bugs, moths, butterflies, and such.  Keep in mind, these are just handheld while the beast in question is fluttering by and rarely stopping for more than a millisecond.  I have a lot to learn!

 

Never-the-less, I'm pleased with these.  The humming bird moth above was dashing around with his wings a blur from blossom to blossom on our lilac bushes (which have finally bloomed profusely after 10 years of waiting). Watching it, you'd just think it was a miniature humming bird, but as an insect buzzing past your head it seems pretty big.

These small butterflies are fluttering around here, there and everywhere these days.  This one actually landed on the driveway and sat still long enough for me to get a picture.  If I read my 'Photo Field Guide to the Butterflies of Southern Ontario' correctly, it's a Northern Crescent, one of the small size butterflies, but this one is bright coloured.

This photo actually looks at the underside of this butterfly, a very tiny one, at least I assume it's a butterfly.  I've seen several flitting in the grass the past few days.  But I can't match it up to any pictures in my little  guide.  Hopefully I'll get a better picture of the upper surface, and perhaps buy a better field guide, to identify it.  In the meantime, I'll keep practicing trying to capture pictures of insects, and then learning what they are!