Tag: #Insects/Bugs

Sunday Stills 2026 August 23: Animal of the Month #2

Insects & Bugs

Animal of the Month
European Honey Bees

Terri has recently started a new theme for the Sunday Stills challenge called Animal of the Month. This month she is challenging us to share images of insects. Insects include a wide variety of animal species. Common examples of Insects are Bees, ants, wasps; Beetles, ladybugs, fireflies; Butterflies and Moths; True Bugs (Cicadas and aphids); as well as Dragonflies and Damselflies.

In this second Sunday Stills Animal of the Month post I am beginning with the European Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) located in The Farm at The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina.

The Beehives
The Farm
The Schiele Museum

North Carolina’s European honey bees are a highly social insect species native to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

The Schiele’s Honeybees

They are the world’s primary pollinator for agriculture. The Honey Bees at The Schiele Museum’s Farm pollinate the wide variety of plants and flowers grown in the Garden.

European honey bees

The European honey bee was first introduced to the Americas by European colonists in March of 1622. The English colonists shipped the first hives to Jamestown, Virginia.

Foraging to the Colony

The Schiele Museum of Natural History has four live apiaries located on The Farm. [The Farm is an outdoor exhibit showcasing Piedmont agricultural history alongside live farm animals.]

Returning to the Hive

Visitors to The Schiele Museum’s Farm are capable of safely look into an observation hive during the Annual Bug Day. During this special day visitors can watch honey bees crawl across honeycomb structures through an indoor -facing window housing a working observation hive.

The museum integrates their apiaries into seasonal student programming, including specialized “Buzz about bees” summer camps and hands-on pollination lab experiments. 

European Honey Bees
(Apis mellifera)

Enough about Honey Bees, shall we take a look at a gallery of other insects/bugs?

Common Blue
Mud Dauber
Papilio glaucus, aka the eastern tiger swallowtail
Eremnophila aureonotata, aka gold-marked
thread-waisted wasp
Eastern Boxelder bug
Brood XIX cicada
Monarch butterflies
Acanthocephala declivis, aka the giant leaf-footed bug
Trigonopeltastes delta, aka delta flower scarab
Sunday Stills
Animal of the Month

Click on each image to enlarge. 

Terri’s Sunday Stills-Animal of the Month 

Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. Gallery:©️2019-2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Telephoto; Gallery various cameras.

Location: The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA ; Gallery various locations.

God Bless. Enjoy your week. Have a wonderful good and safe week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.