Haley Catton

@sagaOptics I am so grateful that you continue to post here. Your photos always feed my mind and my soul!

„Why did you decide to photograph insects?“ - A question I am often asked. A closer look at what often goes unnoticed. The front claw of the musk beetle, captured in extreme detail, reveals a world of structure, precision, and quiet strength. Every curve and edge tells a story shaped by evolution—functional, intricate, and unexpectedly beautiful. These kinds of details exist everywhere in the insect world. Every leg, wing, and antenna carries the same level of intricate design, waiting to be discovered by those who look closely. That’s why! And i love it 🥰

Behold the intricate head of a female southern hawker dragonfly (Aeshna cyanea) in this highly magnified view. At the center, three small ocelli sit atop the head like polished gems, flanked by the enormous compound eyes that dominate the scene with their mosaic-like facets. These ocelli, or simple eyes, are specialized for detecting changes in light intensity and helping the dragonfly maintain stability during flight. Behind them lie the compound eyes, each composed of up to 30,000 ommatidia—tiny individual visual units that function like mini-eyes, complete with their own lenses and photoreceptors. Each ommatidium captures a small portion of the visual field, contributing to a nearly 360-degree panorama that allows the dragonfly to spot prey with remarkable precision. What truly sets their vision apart is the array of color receptors. While humans rely on three types of cones for color perception, dragonflies like the southern hawker possess 11 to 30 different opsins, enabling them to see ultraviolet light and a spectrum far beyond our own, from short-wavelength blues to long-wavelength reds. This advanced color vision aids in hunting, navigation, and even mate selection in their vibrant world. Humans have 3 types of color receptors (red, green, blue). The southern hawker has up to 10 times more color channels, plus UV vision. Her world must be an overwhelming explosion of color: hundreds of nuanced greens, glowing UV patterns on flowers and wings, a sky in shades we can never see. Pure, hypersaturated splendor.

Just green! 💚 Natures colors with some new shots here as a collage. 🌱

You won’t believe what the eye of a tiny lacewing looks like at 50× magnification – an iridescent gem straight out of a sci-fi movie! Thousands of tiny facets (ommatidia) create this shimmering mosaic that gives the insect nearly 360° vision. Pure nature color magic thanks to light interference.

@sagaOptics At first glance, the first picture looks like sushi rolls! Beautiful photos

I‘m sure you‘ll find a friend among the colored, the green or the fluffy moth caterpillars 🐛 #caterpillars

Cicindela hybrida, tiger beetle. In the first picture you can see a highly magnified spot of the frontleg. This beetle is one of the fastest beetles in the world. This beetle can run 120 times their own body length in a single second. To put that in human terms, we would have to run as fast as an airplane, around 1,000 kilometers per hour.

@PeterDyakowski Honest question. If each play can now take up to 35s of the game clock instead of 20s, how does that mean more plays? Each play can take a bigger piece of the game clock pie...

This has stuck in my mind, an interesting take. Re: play clock changes, I don't like fewer plays in the final 3 min. But we could see an overall increase in plays per game by about 17%! That's a tremendous increase in player workload! No wonder the owners didn't want their input!

@CoeSparky @TroyWestwood Agreed. There are so many other things that can help the game. Like a better supply, development and protection of qbs. And better marketing!

@haleycatton @TroyWestwood Still not sure about the goal posts. Yeah, it's a bit of a factor at times in passing plays, but it's part of the game. Slippery slope, next is it the free catch, 4 downs and no motion?

Dear fans of the CFL. 7 of the 9 teams last year lost money. This seems to be the norm going back a number of years now. This obviously is not a sustainable model. Tip of the cap to the league for taking steps in trying to make the league more popular. 🏈🇨🇦

@BobIrvingCJOB The biggest limit to the cfl is how game entertainm't tanks with poor qb play. Too many injuries to QBs & not enough dev't of backups. It's not fun watching a game with 8 pass attempts. Get more quality qbs, protect them more, invest in developm't. My 2 cents after 30 yrs a fan

Milt. People have been predicting the demise of the cfl for decades, and here we are in 2025 still very much alive with the most stable ownership I’ve seen in a long time. No problem with change, but only time will tell if today’s changes are the right ones.

@CoeSparky @TroyWestwood Agreed. I can even live with the goal posts moved. But not the field size itself changed.

@TroyWestwood Perhaps if the League and teams promoted it better. Making the game more American takes away from the uniqueness of the CFL. What's next, the free catch, no motion, and 4 downs? Nah, I get getting rid of a point for missing aa field goal and the benches on opposite sides, no more

@RichardDCarter @TroyWestwood My question exactly too

@TroyWestwood How does making the game more American increase revenues?

@MiltStegallTSN Kind of heartbroken, really. About the goalposts, the rouge, and the length of the field. I love the returns on missed field goals that have the length but not the line. Like Trey Vaval just showed us, this can swing a game.

THOUGHTS?

Arthropod Photo of the Week: August 27, 2025 Seven-spotted lady beetle larva Coccinella septempunctata Coleoptera: Coccinellidae By Matthew Becker (becker.wales), Carmarthenshire, Wales #arthropodPOTW

Started to build a list of fields for the wheat surveys this fall in AB. There are plenty of opportunities for us to sample your field for wheat midge. What's in it for you? I will send you the results from your field after we have processed the samples. DM me for details.

Hi folks! @WorldofWeeds runs a survey to track troublesome and common weeds in different crops. This year is for broadleaf crops including canola, alfalfa, pulses, etc. Agronomists and industry folks, your input would be appreciated!

Update: Genetic testing identifies Group 14-resistant kochia at 13 more sites (so far) across the Canadian Prairies and in all three Prairie Provinces. Stay tuned for complete updates this fall/winter…

Thanks @Grainews & Don Norman for the great & timely coverage on our collaborative #wheat stem #sawfly project with Scott Meers & David Weaver @montanastate & pub in @CanJPlantSci Keep cutting heights @ 6” or greater

AB producers…planning has started for our annual wheat stem sawfly & wheat midge surveys! If you have a field we could visit and take soil samples or count cut stems-we would be happy to visit your field! 1/2