No tripod, flash, and have no idea about noise reduction. I am still trying to understand all the icons. There are probably over a hundred if you access the menus. I took some outside and I have to figure out the telephoto zoom because I did not get such great shots of a red spotted purple. It was in the sun and just about 5 feet from me. Oh well. Here are the pipevines, 9 hours later. It is amazing how soon they congregate! There are over 20 on that leaf, which is smaller than a quarter! Cheers, Elisabeth

I'd say the color changes take place after the molt. Think about gulf frits, and how their spines are clear right after they molt, then the black color gradually appears. I'm no scientist, but in my observations, the color change comes during or after the actual molt, certainly not before. MissSherry P.S. It's funny you should post about molting. I noticed a cicada - the regular summer type - on a piece of cudweed today, with the old skeleton just below it. The cicada was clear colored and didn't appear able to fly. When I came back to the same cudweed a few hours later, the wings had darkened and didn't look so fragile. I'm clueless about cicada life cycles, but it looked like this critter changed color after molting, too.

Paul, I found QMs on my hops, but found some more on an Elm sapling. If you have any, check it out, too. I think the reason the laid their eggs on the Elm is because it is about 10' away from the fruit plate I put out for them. Obviously, they weren't just nectaring! LOL! Susan

It's a job to keep up with cutting off the flowers of fennel, for sure. Some years I do try to cut them off before they bloom, and other years, I just don't want to put forth the effort because it is a continuous battle. But, they do put out more foliage if you do cut the flowers off. I haven't done that this year, and, of course, I just have stalks now. When the days get a bit shorter and temps cool down a bit, the foliage will begin to grow back. I have had the frothy foliage overwinter in some years, reflecting a startling green against the brown background of the winter garden. I don't think cutting it back will induce much growth for the time being, but you could certainly try it with a couple plants and see how its does for you. Please report back and let us know, if you decide to do that. Susan