Brush-tipped Emerald

Dragonfly families can typically be distinguished by their eyes. All dragonflies have compound eyes but some families of dragonflies have eyes that are separated, like a hammerhead shark, some have large eyes that look almost like a helmet, some have eyes that connect in a single point and look like an infinity symbol. Many of the members of the emerald dragonfly family have emerald eyes. This is the face of a brush-tipped emerald, Somatochlora walshii.

The brush-tipped emerald gets its common name from the hairs on the end of its claspers. It is found in the genus Somatochlora which are the striped emeralds. Most of the Somatachlora are found in bogs and swamps making them more difficult to find. The brush-tipped is smaller than most of the other somatochlora usually under 2 inches which helps to identify it in flight, although some of the more common emeralds are around the same size. They also tend to fly fairly close to the ground rarely going above the six foot level. (Note: This dragonfly was netted and the pics were taken while it was in hand. The dragonfly was then released)

Bronze Copper

Dragonhunter

 The dragonhunter is the largest dragonfly that we have here in the upper Midwest. It has an average length of about 3.3 inches, well short of the giant darner, which at 5 inches is the longest dragonfly in the US. The dragonhunter is beefier though. It's abdomen is so large that the tip often curls down in a J shape when they fly. They are typically found around moderate to swift flowing streams and rivers where they can live up to seven years in their larval form, called a nymph. They are fierce predators eating other large dragonflies, as well as butterflies including the toxic monarch butterfly.

First Butterflies of the Year.

 Last week I saw my first butterflies of 2015. The timing is not much of a surprise. We usually start seeing butterflies as early as late March. What surprised me was the species. Typically my first butterfly of the year is either a mourning cloak or a comma. That is because both of these species overwinter as adult butterflies. As soon as it warms up they thaw out and begin to fly. The cabbage white overwinters as a chrysalis. They typically have three broods per year with the last brood overwintering in the pupae state. When it warms up they emerge and look for a partner to mate with.

Cabbage whites are a non native species here in North America. They were introduced to North America in the 1860's and have done very well for themselves. They are common in Europe, North Africa, and Asia where they are also called the large white. They are common here in the U.S. now, also. They are so common that when I first saw them I almost ignored them until I realized that they were my first butterfly of the year. Unfortunately I was on a walk during my lunch break at work and did not have a camera so no pics. The pics in this post were taken in the past during the middle of summer when thing are much more green and blooming then they are right now.

Welcome Spring

Last Friday was the first day of Spring. Here in Minnesota mid March does not typically look like Spring, especially the past couple of year. We often still have a lot of snow on the ground and temps that barely reach above freezing. This year has been different though. This winter we have had very little snow and with a couple of weeks with temps in the fifties and even some sixties most of what we had has already melted, although we just got another coating last night. With the warm spring like weather we have been having I have even begun to see woolly bear caterpillars come out of hibernation.

The woolly bear caterpillar is the larval form of the Isabella tiger moth. Woolly bear caterpillars are found in paces with colder climates, including the Arctic. They over Winter in their caterpillar form by producing cryprotectant in their tissues. This natural anti freeze allows them to freeze solid over the winter. When the weather warms up they thaw up, pupate and become an Isabella Tiger moth. They will then lay eggs that will hatch in the early fall starting the process over again.

Eat or be Eaten

While dragonflies are fierce predators of the insect world they are often also prey. Many are eaten by larger predators such as birds, but other predators are not any larger than the dragonfly. This furrow orbweaver spider has captured a whiteface dragonfly that will feed it well for quite a while. Since orbweaver spiders do not have very good vision they use a web to ensnare prey. Other spiders with better vision, such as wolf spiders, do not use webs for hunting.

Orange Sulphur

 The orange sulphur is a common yellow butterfly that can be found through out most of North America. They are very similar in appearance to the clouded sulphur when perched, as in the photo above. However when they open their wings the upper surface is more of an orange color where the clouded sulphur is yellow on the tops of their wings.

It is possible to tell the difference between male and females by looking at the black border on the upper side of the wings. With the male the border is solid black, like in the photos above, while the females have yellow spots in the border. Orange sulphurs larval host plant is alfalfa, clovers, and other legumes.

Golden-backed Snipe Fly

 Like many people I am not a big of flies. There are approximately 120,000 species of flies in the world and most of the ones that I have encountered are not on my friends list. In my experience many fly species are parasitic. They bite mammals, birds, and people and drink some of their blood. During the summer the deer and black flies in the northern two thirds of Minnesota can be almost unbearable. Then there are house flies that are always trying to raise their maggots in your food and garbage. However I did come across this rather cool looking fly in the southeastern corner of the state. The golden-backed snipe fly is native to eastern portions of North America. I am guessing that Minnesota is on the edge of their range because I have only seen these flies once in my 50 long years of life. There is not a lot of information available about this species, or most insects for that matter, but it is believed to be a predator that eats other insects instead of a parasite. So not only does it look great but it is also less biting.

Dorcas Copper

The dorcas copper is a small northern butterfly that is typically found around bogs or other wetland areas in Alaska, Canada, and parts of northern United States. There is typically one brood per summer from June through August. They are very similar looking to the purplish copper.

Females lay their eggs one at a time on the underside of the leaves of their host plant, which are cinquefoils. In the fall the eggs fall to the ground where they will overwinter as eggs. In spring the new caterpillars will emerge and crawl back up the new host plants and begin to eat the leaves.

Orange-barred Sulphur

The orange-barred sulphur is a large sulphur butterfly found in Florida, south Texas, Mexico, Central America and northern South America. There are usually 2 to 3 brood per year in Florida and the butterflies can be seen year round. Occasionally they migrate north, and in those cases usually have only one brood. The larval host plants are Cassia species in the pea family.

Atlantis Fritillary

 The Atlantis fritillary is a brushfoot butterfly that is found in Southern Canada, and the northern and eastern United States. They usually have one brood per summer and can be identified from other fritiallry butterflies by the black border on the upper side of the wings. Their larval host plants are violets. This year the number of butterflies that I have seen has been way down. It most likely has something to do with the late winter that we had this year.

Calico Pennant

I know some people who love to chase butterflies but are freaked out when it comes to dragonflies. When I ask them about it I usually get an answer something like dragonflies are bugs. Then I explain that both dragonflies and butterflies are insects. But butterflies are pretty they usually tell me and so I ask them if they have ever seen a calico pennant. On the pretty scale calico pennants are a match for any butterfly. The male, seen above, is mostly red with red spots that look like hearts running up the abdomen. The female and young have mostly the same pattern except they are bright yellow instead of red.

Elegant Crab Spider

 The elegant crab spider is a ground crab in the genus Xysticus. Instead of catching their prey in a web these spiders are ambush hunters. They use their good eye sight and ability to blend in to wait for their prey to happen by and then grab them with their front legs. They are able to spin webs but do so only for mating and egg laying.

Silver-bordered Fritillary

The silver-bordered fritillary is medium sized brushfoot butterfly that is found in the northern United States and Canada. It is usually found around wetlands, such as wet meadows, swamps and bogs. I photographed this one at the Big Bog State Recreational Area last summer.

 This species over winters as a caterpillar so there are typically two broods per year. The first brood begins to emerge around mid may and the second begins around July. The larval host plants are members of the violet family, which you can see the butterfly above is perched on. The species gets its name from the large silver-white triangles that border the under side of both fore and rear wings.

Teneral Dragonfly

I went out to Crex Meadows yesterday hoping to get some video of butterflies for an upcoming program I am doing. While I out checking the butterfly weed I found this teneral dragonfly perched on the flower. Dragonflies are predators, they do not eat nectar or pollen like butterflies, however when they first emerge from their larval stage they are vulnerable and usually find an out of the way place to perch while their wings firm. I would guess that this is some kind of meadowhawk but teneral dragonflies are often hard to identify because they usually have not developed their field markings yet. With its orangish coloration the butterfly weed was a good place to perch because it blended in nicely. 

Blue Bells

The blue bell is a plant that is native to western Europe, particularly the British Isles. It has spread to North America where it is now found in the northwest and northeastern United States. I photographed this flower in Yellowstone where it was one of the few species of wild flowers that was already in bloom at the end of May.

Blue-eyed Darner

The blue-eyed darner is a large dragonfly that is typically found in the western US down into Central America. Until the past few years there were very few records of this species in Minnesota and those were all in the southeast corner of the state. It is possible that this was because the state was very poorly surveyed until the Minnesota Odonata Survey began several years ago. In the past few years sightings in Minnesota suggest that there range may be more extensive then first thought. It is also possible that there range has expanded or changed due to climate change. This theory is made more possible by the large number of sightings last year, when we had an unusually mild winter and early spring. This year has been quite the opposite, weather wise, and I have not heard of any sightings of this species in Minnesota so far this year. 

Spring White Butterfly

Although this year seems to be a difficult year for photographing butterflies here in Minnesota, because the numbers we are seeing are well below normal, it was one of the best that we have ever had for photographing butterflies in Yellowstone. Since we usually go in late May often there is still quite a bit of snow on the ground. This past year though it seems that they had a rather mild winter so the snow was already mostly gone when we visited. Usually we do not see any butterflies but this year I added 3 new species to my butterfly life list. One of those species is the spring white. This white butterfly gets its name because it is early to emerge in the spring. This is mostly because the over winter as a chrysalis. They are found in a variety of habitats in western North America. In the lower part of their range they can emerge as early as February. Males are often seen patrolling hilltops and ridges where they have a vantage point to look for females. Females are often near to larval host plants, plants in the mustard family, where they lay their eggs one at a time.   

Hoary Elfin

This weekend I traveled to northwestern Wisconsin to a workshop on photographing butterflies. I was hoping to get an opportunity to photograph some of the more unusual butterflies that are out in late spring and early summer. Unfortunately we found that there seemed to be a lot less butterflies then when we went to the same area last year in mid May. Who knows why? Maybe it had something to do with the long winter that we had this year or maybe it stems from the drought conditions that much of the central part of the country experienced last summer. I do consider the trip a success though because I was able to find several of the unique species that I was looking to photograph. One of those species is the hoary elfin. The hoary elfin is a northern butterfly that ranges in the northern United States, Canada and Alaska. Its larval host plant is bearberry so it is usually found in the vicinity of the plant. There is plenty of bearberry located in the sandy barrens of northwestern Wisconsin so we had many good looks of these tiny butterflies.