BLOG POST 03
montebello open space preserve - los altos, ca
On the crest of the Santa Cruz mountains, separating the Pacific and the Silicon Valley, lies Monte Bello Open Space Preserve – an endless expanse of rolling grasses, nestled by sea fog in the early mornings and warm, golden sunshine by midday. I sat in the middle of the preserve, utterly still, the top of my head barely peeking above the tallest grasses. In my hands, I held my camera, attached to what I’ve affectionately nicknamed my “bug lens” – a macro photography lens that magnifies small subjects, like insects, rendering them in millimeter-level detail. Giddily, I looked into the viewfinder and watched as the microscopic beauty of life in late spring emerged before my eyes.
Fuzzy bumble bees clambered over purple clover flowers, each hair on their bodies – from their eyes to their legs – covered in pollen to take home for the colony. Cabbage white butterflies balanced on dandelions, rocks, and thick grasses, waving their sparkling proboscises. Two ants battled an earwig for a corkscrew erodium seed. Using their sharp mandibles, the ants won – victoriously carrying the seed away from the earwig at an impressive pace, especially given the fact that the erodium was nearly ten times their size. I was enthralled by the hidden world around me, reminded that despite wars, pandemics, and mass shootings, the magnificence of the natural world carries on – just like it did before I was born, and as it will continue to do long after I’m gone.
I stayed in the preserve the rest of the afternoon, chasing butterflies and wandering trails, looking for new bugs to discover. So far, my favorite insect to photograph has been the snakefly. In addition to having four beautiful membranous wings, snakeflies have an incredible propensity for staying still on picturesque plants, like orchids or orange trees. In contrast, roly polys – which burrow in the dirt whenever I get close – have been the most difficult to photograph (though perhaps the ones in my garden are just especially shy). When others see my bug photos, I’m often met with shock at the insects’ beauty. It’s easy to believe the stereotype, that bugs are just pests with too many legs, if you never look up close and see their shimmering exoskeletons, inquisitive antennae, and intricately patterned wings. I find joy in discovering and sharing these details, marvels of evolution hidden in the minutiae of daily life – advocating for the underdog (or “underbug,” if you will) in our understanding of nature.
