Storytime 48

hibiscus blossom being ravaged by insects
Today’s photo was taken during the New York trip, and was chosen to reflect the holiday yesterday – can you relate? There are at least five different insects working this hibiscus bloom over, though some of them may only be in it for the nectar. The Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica) at top are most likely responsible for the damage to the petals, and to nearly every blossom on the bush. As indicated by the water drops, this wasn’t long after a morning rain, and I was ambling around the bush looking for promising abstracts and not finding too many blossoms that were intact and photogenic, so I settled on a prime example of the damages instead. It’s commentary on the transience of beauty or the subjectivity of the animal classes or some such thing. It’s commentary, anyway – that’s what makes it fartsy. It’s not deep unless there’s an obscure rationale behind it.