Summer Finds . . .

Found an older Red Admiral butterfly enjoying the late sun.

Motherwort is blooming everywhere now.

And Butterfly Weed is showing her blazing orange colors.


Summer is progressing.

Enjoy!

~ Robin

Butterflies

 An American Painted Lady was enjoying the cultivated garden at the corner of the  park this afternoon.  And the peninsula had several Eastern Blue Tails flitting about.

Enjoy!

~ Robin 

Whispered Memory

At first, I thought this was a leaf stuck on a burr.  I am glad I was wrong.  This shell of a beauty is amazingly preserved.   Click to enlarge.  Kind of haunting.

Enjoy!

~ Robin

Milkweed Prime Time

Nearly all the milkweed have opened, or at least have started to open.  The park is white with fuzz!   Also of note, I found another Painted Lady butterfly today.  This kind of butterfly migrates for the winter.  I was surprised to see one so late.

Enjoy!

~ Robin

October Red Surprise

Here is some 'Red' for your October.  This month seems to be butterfly month for me.  Today obliged with a Red Admiral.  The under wings are quite colorful with blues and purples too.

Enjoy!

~ Robin  

Painted Lady

The sun was welcome today and brought out plenty of pollinators. A Painted Lady lingered to enjoy a bush of New England Aster.

Enjoy!

~ Robin  

Checkers Anyone?

Several butterflies like above were fluttering about on the peninsula this morning.  I'm having a hard time identifying it.  Perhaps it is a  Northern Crecent, or a Harris' Checkerspot, or maybe a Pearl Crecent.   The fore wing seems hard to match up.  What do you think?  Do you know what butterfly this might be?

Enjoy!

~ Robin

Yippee Skippy!

Several skippers were out to play along the creek path.  They were partial to the blazing prairies wildflowers.

Enjoy!

~ Robin 

Tailed Blue

Those dainty little blue and white butterflies are called Eastern Blue-tailed Butterfly.  See the little tail on the bottom wing?  When the wings are spread, the boys are blue, but the females are slate grey.

Enjoy!

~ Robin

Black Beauties

I wandered along Bassett Creek this morning and found a couple of black beauties:  A red-spotted purple butterfly and an Ebony Jewelwing.

Enjoy!

~ Robin

Butterfly Allure

Swamp Milkweed and Butterfly Weed are out to allure.  They are both in the milkweed family.  Watch for enamored butterflies.

Enjoy!

~ Robin

Fox Sparrow

Saw a couple Fox Sparrows along the creek path.  These guys are migrating and just passing through.  The warmth brought out some insects too.  I've never seen a butterfly like this little one.  It was smaller than a dime.  Any clue what she might be?

Enjoy!

~ Robin

Yellow, Orange, and Pink

Among the fall flowers planted at the corner of the park several pollinators are busy.  Notably, the bright yellow of an "Orange Sulphur."   Not exactly the "orange" I think of on a fall day, yet pretty things to watch.

Enjoy!

~ Robin

Photo taken September 14th, 2012

Buckeye and American Lady

This Common Buckeye is enjoying a clover just outside the baseball outfield fence.  And not too far away under a bush, an American Lady rests her wings.  I didn't see any of these last year.


Enjoy!


~ Robin

Crescent?

There at least a few species of Crescent butterflies in Minnesota.  I'm not at all sure how to differentiate.  Perhaps you could help?  I'm leaning toward Pearl Crescent.  But, maybe this is a  Northern Crescent.  Or possibly Tawny Crescent?  Click on the names to see for comparisons.

It sometimes isn't as easy to identify butterflies as it looks.

Enjoy!

~ Robin

Admiring Admirals

Along the marsh road I followed a Red Admiral a little while.  The butterfly posed  nicely for me.  As I walked along, it seemed like he was following me and wanted me to take more photos.  Closer observation revealed there were a NUMBER of Admirals sunning themselves not just this one.

Enjoy!

~ Robin

Monarch, Which Generation?

Monarch butterflies migrate in the winter.  They show up here when the milkweed starts to grow.  During the summer, the Monarch life cycle is short - only up to 8 weeks.  The late fall generation, however, is different.  They live up to 7 months.  They are physiologically different than their predecessors in order to last the migration south to Mexico.  This one is the first I've seen at the park.  It probably is freshly returned.  Most likely, it is her children that will be the 'First Generation'.

Looks to be a stormy week-end.  I'll post more of today's pictures then.  Hope you had a chance to get out today and enjoy!

~ Robin

Butterfly Fingerprint

Captured my first butterfly photo of the year!  Found this Milbert's Tortoiseshell butterfly at the park yesterday afternoon.  Based on fingerprint on the right wing, I was not the first to find it.

Enjoy!

~ Robin Clifton