I am a photographer and I specialize in close-up photography. These pages are provided for your entertainment (and mine). I hope you like them.
I live in Iowa, so I do most of my photography in Iowa. Observations noted here are my own, and information given falls into the realm of common knowledge, unless noted otherwise. I am trying to entertain more than I am trying to educate.
I am not a scientist, even though sometimes I wish I had become one. One advantage of not being a scientist though is that I don't have to worry too much about always using the scientific names for the critters I photograph. In fact, I don't use the scientific names too much. They are usually easy to find for butterflies, but a lot more difficult to find for other insects without going to a lot of work. Truth is, finding the correct scientific name for most insects is a chore for scientists too. They usually send specimens out to a specific scientist who is an expert on that particular type of insect.
You learn more about nature by observing than you do by reading, anyway. While most of the stuff in the general scientific literature or in the field guides and other books written for the general public is checked for accuracy, you should always keep in mind that you might see something no one else has written about. You might also observe that what is written in the books is wrong.
Excuse me if I rant a little in this thing. I observe insects because I like to. I don't particularly care if the insect is economically important or not. I also don't really care to extend observations to some grand theory. I ask some questions in this web site. In most cases I don't want you to send me the answers. I think I know the answers to some questions I ask. I haven't got a clue on some of the others.
Bugs are bugs. They provide entertainment for me. That's what they are here for. That's why I like them. I don't have to justify in an economic or biological sense why I like them. If you don't like that, well, you are probably taking yourself too seriously. Lighten up.
So come on. Let's have some fun with bugs.
Harlan Ratcliff
3240 210th Street
Dallas Center, IA 50063
(515) 986-4352
e-mail: "bugs@crosspaths.net"