Dateline: May 2022
With peak migration season over, time to enjoy some interesting and beautiful insects out at Presque Isle State Park. (Not to worry, no more tick pics!)
First, a few birds!
Unless stated otherwise, following shots all from Pine Tree Meadows. https://birdingpi.com/pine-tree-meadows/. Pine Tree Meadows is great for seeing diverse insects (and ticks) in a relatively small area.
First, the very tiny but very beautiful Eastern Tailed-blue butterfly:
Switching to a dragonfly, the amazing Black Saddlebags:
Picture below seems to be of an immature or female Blue Dasher dragonfly; lots of these around. Note the vertically-striped thorax and horizontally-striped abdomen. See https://www.welcomewildlife.com/dragonflies-and-damselflies-top-guns-of-the-insect-world/ for a nice write-up on dragonflies generally, plus a helpful diagram of anatomy. (No affiliation.)
Next up, the colorful Common Green Darner:
Photographing dragonflies in the air is harder even than birds. Very erratic flight patterns. Lucky to get even this mediocre shot:
Always great to see another Monarch. Note the white spots on the thorax – distinctive of Monarch relative to other, similar-looking species.
Next, the distinctive Silver-spotted Skipper:
Closing this post out with another dragonfly classic, the Twelve-spotted Skimmer. (Don’t worry, more insect shots to follow!) This is likely a female or immature – a mature male would have white spots next to the black spots on the wings.
