NATURE NOTES: June 2017

TEN BUTTERLIES IN A 1/2 HOUR STROLL THROUGH OUR 1 ACRE PRAIRIE

Painted Lady butterfly. Has been a very good butterfly year at our place-perhaps because we have missed some of the big rains that others in our area have been getting. Last year was a bad year for butterflies at our place and it was a very wet June last summer.

Comma or Question Mark butterfly-not so sure which it is.

White Cabbage

Yellow Sulfur

Red Admiral

Skipper family

Wood-nymph. To view more of our photos, go to the right and click on June 2017, or any other month desired.

Hackberry

Fritillary

Badly beat up Crescent butterfly.

Virginia Ctenuchid Moth on Milkweed Bloom.

Skipper on white clover. Most skippers are small (less than 1 inch) and hold their wings upright when at rest or feeding.

Freshly emerged Red Admiral.

Foxglove Beardtongue on our one acre prairie.

DRAGONFLIES, BUTTERFLIES, AND FLOWERS OF LAKE LOUSIE ST. PARK

Male Ebony Jewelwing.

Bluet Damselfly (probably rainbow species). Damselflies are more dainty than dragonflies, and hold their wings on their backs when at rest.

Widow Skimmer, Female, dragonfly.

Dragonflies mating.

Male Common Whitetail dragonfly.

Buckeye Butterfly.

Spiderwort. TO VIEW MORE OF OUR PHOTOS CLICK GO TO THE RIGHT AND CLICK ON JUNE 2017 OR ANY OTHER MONTH DESIRED.

Wild Rose.

Bluebird pair at nest box, Lake Louise St. Park.

Tree Swallow exchanging parent duties. This house is next to another one that the Bluebirds are using.

Fritillary Butterfly. Have seen several this week.

Red Admiral Butterfly. Good hatch this week-larva feeds on nettle.

Bobolink, male, Hayden Prairie. Bobolinks need grassland and Hayden Prairie provides good habitat for this bubbly sounding bird.

Female 12-Spot dragonfly. The dragonflies are beginning to hatch.

Female Common Whitetail.

Male Common Whitetail.

The Lady's Slippers at Hayden Prairie are about spent, but did find this nice clump.

Bee trapped inside a Yellow Lady's Slipper. A ploy by the flower to insure that the bee has pollen rubbed on it when it escapes. The bee did indeed escape.

Wild Parsnip-an invasive species to be avoided at all cost, as it burns the skin.

GOOD BUTTERFLY DAY

Black Swallowtail butterfly. Found all of these butterflies yesterday within 100 yards of each other, along the backwaters of the lower Root River in Houston Co.,MN.

Black Swallowtail.

Tiger Swallowtail.

Tiger Swallowtail. Note that the right wing is not even fully pumped up with fluid yet. Must have emerged less than two hours ago.

Giant Swallowtail on Blue Flag Iris.

Baltimore Checkerspot. Houston co. Mn. We have never seen one of these in Fillmore Co.

FLOWERS OF HAYDEN PRAIRIE

Yellow Lady's Slipper, Hayden Prairie. Hayden Prairie is located west of Lime Spring Iowa. Go west of Lime Springs 4.3 miles, then turn left on Ivy road and go 0.5 miles and you should see well over a hundred Lady's Slippers. To view more of our nature photos go to the right and click on June 2017 or any month desired.