Thursday, July 30, 2009

Mushroom: Coprinus sp.

It's rained here the last couple of days and that always results in some mushrooms. These delicate little mushrooms, probably a Coprinus sp., grow in clusters on rotting wood of deciduous trees on the creek flood plane after rain. Each mushroom cap is 1/4-in to 3/8-in diameter and sits on a stalk about 1-1/2-in tall.

Identification resource:

The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms. ISBN: 0-394-51992-2
Click the image to view a larger image

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)

The Gulf Fritillary is another solitary butterfly. Like the Variagated Fritillary, it is also ‘flighty’, continuously on the move, flitting from place to place, and rarely staying still for more than a few seconds. Very frustrating to photograph...

It usually lands on a flower with wings open and, after a few seconds…


folds them until it flies to another flower. The underwing patches that are white in refracted light appear like silver in reflected light.

I photographed the butterfly with folded wings this spring and the butterfly with open wings last year. It’s very frustrating to try to photograph this butterfly with open wings since it moves around the bush continuously, spending only a minute or two on each flower. Fortunately, they will return to the same bush repeatedly.


Identification resources:
- West Central Georgia Butterflies by Michael Beohm: Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)
- BugGuide: Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) [Wings folded] [Wings open]
Click the image to view a larger image

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Zen: Dragonfly

For the record, it's a Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta)...
Click on the image to view a larger image

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Dragonfly, Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera)



Several young, small female Eastern Amberwing dragonflies were testing their wings in a wildflower patch in the field. They were landing on these Virginia Plantain (Plantago virginica) seedheads and testing their wings. A few days latter they were gone.

Identification resources:

- Dragonflies of Georgia: Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera)

- BugGuide: Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera) [Male] [Female]

Click the image to view a larger image

Friday, July 24, 2009

Zen: Yellowjacket Hover Fly

This is the first time I’ve tried to take an ‘in motion’ shot. It only worked because the fly was hovering for some time and I was just lucky to get the focus right. The fly is a Yellowjacket Hover Fly (Milesia virginiensis). It was hovering, waiting to visit a Sicklepod Coffeeweed (Senna obtusifolia). It hovered for a short time and then flew - it was surprising how loud it was - at the flower, scattering other flies already on the flower. It apparently decided it didn’t really want the flower at all and settled on a nearby leaf. Territorial behavior?

Identification resources:
- BugGuide: Yellowjacket Hover Fly (Milesia virginiensis)
Click the image to view a larger image

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Zen: Beach Ball Escapee…


Every now and again, swimmers at the beach in Fort Yargo State Park lose inflatable beach balls. The wind blows them across the lake. I often recover them when I’m rowing, stow them on the stern deck, and drop them off at the beach on my way back to where I launch. I rescued this ball last Sunday morning. I’d seen it on Saturday morning but conditions were too windy to pick it up. I’ve picked up balls in windy weather before and had them blow off the deck repeatedly; sometimes I’ve had to ‘rescue’ them several times before I can get them back to the beach. So I decided to leave it where it was and pick it up on Sunday morning if it was still there. It had blown into the cattails a little but I was able to retrieve it. A little girl picnicing with her family was delighted to have an unexpected ball to play with.
Click the image to view a larger image

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Dragonfly: Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa)

Widow Skimmers are the most numerous dragonflies at our place at the moment. True to their name, they are skimming across the field near the house and near the road, rarely alighting. I got some of these photographs before they became active; otherwise, It’s been easiest to get photographs in the morning or late afternoon when it's cooler and they're warming in the sun.

Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) - Female
This photograph of a female shows the pattern on the wings but not the gold stripe along the abdomen.

Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) - Female
The gold stripe along the side of the abdomen on a female is shown clearly in this photograph.

Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) - Male

Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) - Male
These photos show the slightly different pigmentation pattern on the wings, the light patches on the upper thorax and the absence of a gold stripe on the abdomen.

Identification resources:

- Dragonflies of Georgia: Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa)
- BugGuide: Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) [Male] [Female]

Click the image to view a larger image

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia)

The Variagated Fritillary is another solitary butterfly. It is a ‘flighty’ butterfly, continuously on the move, flitting from place to place, rarely staying still for more than a few seconds. Very frustrating to photograph...

It usually sits with wings folded.

It sits and flicks its wings open intermittently but rarely holds them open long enough to get a photo. I stalked this particular butterfly for some time and captured many images before I succeeded in getting a good photo of it with its wings open.

Identification resources:

- West Central Georgia Butterflies by Michael Beohm:
Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia)
- BugGuide: Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) [Wings open] [Wings folded]

Click the image to view a larger image

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)

The American Lady is another of the butterflies that visit the bush alone, rarely accompanied by others of their species.

Usually, they work the flowers with their wings folded.

Rarely, they sit with wings open.

Identification resources:

- West Central Georgia Butterflies by Michael Beohm: American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)
- BugGuide: American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)
[Wings folded] [Wings open]
Click the image to view a larger image

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)

Two butterflies, the Common Buckeye and the Fiery Skipper, are the most common butterflies on the butterfly bush at the moment. A number of other butterflies visit the bush alone, rarely accompanied by fellows of their species. One of these is the Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus).

Its wings are usually folded. In some lights, the gold and silver patches on the wings are dull. In the right light these patches are brilliant metallic gold and silver.

It is unusual to see this butterfly with wings unfolded. Yesterday, this butterfly settled on a blackberry leaf and displayed its open wings for enough time for me to capture this image.

Identification resources:
- West Central Georgia Butterflies by Michael Beohm: Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)
- BugGuide: Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)
Click the image to view a larger image

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Zen: Sunrise

On the way to the lake this morning ...

Friday, July 10, 2009

Moth: Stone-winged Owlet (Chytolita petrealis)

Another common springtime woodland moth.

Identification resources:

- Bug Guide: Stone-winged Owlet (Chytolita petrealis)
Click on an image to view a larger image

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Dragonfly: Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia)

The Common Whitetail is one of the more frequent and numerous dragonflies around the house and the field at the moment.

Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia) [male]

Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia) [male]

Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia) [female]

They have several favorite spots to congregate. One area by the greenhouse is covered with dark synthetic ‘cloth’ used to prevent overgrowth by weeds. The second spot they particularly like is on the gravel drive halfway from the house to the road. In the late afternoon they often congregate at the edge of the woods on a fallen pine tree whose trunk and needles have absorbed heat during the day.

Identification resources:

- Dragonflies of Georgia: Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia)
- Bug Guide: Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia) [Female]
- Bug Guide: Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia) [Male]
Click on an image to view a larger image

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Summer Azure (Celastrina neglecta)

I first saw this butterfly with its wings folded, I thought it was a Spring Azure.

Later, when I saw the pattern on its open wings, I realized it was a Summer Azure. It’s rare to see one of these butterflies settle with open wings; this butterfly sat for some time like this.

Identification resources:
- West Central Georgia Butterflies by Michael Beohm: Summer Azure (Celastrina neglecta)

- BugGuide: Summer Azure (Celastrina neglecta)
Click the image to view a larger image

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)

Apart from the Buckeyes, Fiery Skippers are the most numerous butterflies on the butterfly bush at the moment. At least a dozen are on the bush at any one time. They’re the first to arrive in the morning – before it has really warmed up – and the last to leave in the evening, long after the sun has sunk behind the woods across the road.
Occasionally one will pose with its wings open, but not very often.

This is it’s usual pose, wings folded. They do have the prettiest eyes.

Identification resources:
- West Central Georgia Butterflies by Michael Beohm: Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)

- BugGuide: Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)

Click the image to view a larger image

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Chicks: Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)

OK... What does this look like?

A mail box (in the middle) and a couple of paper boxes (left hand side, county paper; right hand side, city paper). Right?

Wrong. Well, it’s true that the middle box IS a mail box - a functional mail box. But we don’t get the county paper anymore because it really doesn’t have any news of interest. And the folks who deliver the city paper have long since forgotten that the city paper is supposed be put in the city paper box. We grumble about the fact that the folks who deliver the city paper seem to have forgotten that there is a paper box when they throw our paper in the general direction of the drive. Perhaps, at the moment, that’s a blessing. At the moment, it has a much more noble purpose. It is serving as a nest box for a Carolina Wren. W and J have seen the wren bomb out of the box when disturbed. We don’t know how many eggs she laid but there are three chicks.

Alive and well and…

with great gaping maws when anything that might deliver a meal approaches.

Additional resource: Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)
Click on an image to view a large image

Friday, July 3, 2009

Southern Pearly-Eye (Enodia portlandia)

In contrast to the Red Admiral and Eastern Comma, I’ve only seen the Southern Pearly-Eye butterfly on the flood plain at the creek, not higher up on the path. And I’ve seen several Southern Pearly-Eyes in contrast to only seeing one each of the other two butterflies.

The first time, I spooked one in the woods and it landed on a plant in an opening where W and J had dug a pool to encourage frogs to breed. This butterfly spent a few minutes on the plant before to flew off into the woods again.


The second butterfly I was able to photograph was in the woods. Again I spooked it and it landed on the trunk of a nearby tree. I was able to make my way through the brush and take several photos.

Identification resources:
- West Central Georgia Butterflies by Michael Beohm: Southern Pearly-Eye (Enodia portlandia)

- BugGuide: Southern Pearly-Eye (Enodia portlandia)

Click the image to view a larger image

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

This Red Admiral was the second butterfly I saw in a sunny patch on the path down to the woods during the cool days in late spring. Another butterfly I would not have seen if it had not been for these unusually cool days.

This butterfly spent more time with its wings in an open display.

Identification resources:
- West Central Georgia Butterflies by Michael Beohm: Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
- BugGuide: Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
Click the image to view a larger image

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma)

In late spring, we had a few cool days – at least is was quite cool in the open woods behind the house. The trees hadn’t leafed in thickly and there were patches of sunlight on the path down to the creek.

This Eastern Comma (summer form) had selected one of these sunny patches to alight and warm itself. Its wings were closed most of the time but occasionally it would flick them quickly open and closed again. When I disturbed it by moving too close, it would fly off, circle around and land again in the same patch of sunlight. If it hadn’t been for the cold days and the sunny patches on the path, I probably would never have seen this butterfly.

Identification resources:
- West Central Georgia Butterflies by Michael Beohm: Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma)
- BugGuide: Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma)
Click the image to view a larger image