NATURE NOTES: August 2011

Meadowhawk dragonfly, probably White-faced Meadowhawk, Fillmore county, Mn.

Halloween Pennant Dragonfly, Fillmore county Mn.

BUTTERFLIES(Tiger Swallowtail dark phase female above)

Black Swallowtail(female) on cup plant in our prairie.

Black Swallowtail(female)

Small blue Damsel fly-unsure of species. Beltrami county Mn

Satyr(I think Wood Nymph) Butterfly

Hackberry butterfly on our window. So named for the larva that feeds on the leaves of the Hackberry tree.

Cup Plant against the blue skies of Minnesota in August

Tiger Swallowtail on Bergemot. Notice how the wings appear to be somewhat wrinkled. This is because this butterfly had just emerged and has not had time to totally pump up its wings yet. It only would fly about 4 ft ahead of us because its wings were not yet fully readly to use.

Tiger Swallowtail dark phase female on one of our cup plants.

Darner Family Dragonfly Beltrami County Mn

Variable Darner dragonfly Beltrami County Mn

Walking Sticks are more common than most people realize but they are hard to find because they do indeed look like a twig.

White Admiral butterfly, Beltrami county MN. This one is getting old and somewhat battered by age.

White Cabbage butterflies are a very common species. They seldom land and sit still and this is the best photo I have been able to get because of this behavior.

Commom Blue butterfly

Common Blue butterflies are about 1 inch+ in size. You will seldom see the blue when they are resting.

Buckeye butterflies do not hatch out in Minnesota but they do sometimes migrate from farther south into Minnesota.

DRAGONFLIES, FLOWERS, AND BUTTERFLIES PUT ON A SHOW

Male Widow Skimmer dragonfly on Bergamot flower. These preditors of m0squitos are now quite common

. Fillmore county Mn.

Ten or possibly 12-spotted dragonfly. Mower county MN.

Saddlebacked dragonfly. Mower county Mn.

This is an adult Cicada. You can hear the high-pitched buzzing sound comming from the trees as the days of July and August heat up-This is the mating call of the Cicada.

Cicada nymph exoskeleton. If you look closely at the back of this dried up exoskeleton you can see where the Cicada adult crawled out.

MANY PRAIRIE FLOWERS ARE NOW BLOOMING

Mud Dabber wasp on Mountain Mint flower. Mud Dabbers look fierce but are not at all aggressive. They come to our bird bath all day long to get water that they then use to make their mud formed homes.

Yellow Coneflowers(or gray-headed) are very common right now.

Bergamont is a common prairie and roadside flower that has is related to mints.

A true plant of the prairies. Called the Compass plant because the leaves tend to face the rising and setting sun and therefore align north and south.