Before heading out to Presque Isle State Park for Saturday field operations, it’s back to insect/flower photographs, this time @ 100mm macro (i.e., a 1:1 macro lens) at the West Road Elk Creek access in McKean, PA. Here’s Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) on Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense):
Also on Creeping Thistle, this is some species of skipper butterfly in the family Hesperiidae, e.g., Zabulon Skipper or Hobomok Skipper:
This is a closeup of what’s probably Chinese Catalpa (Catalpa ovata), a medium-sized ornamental tree probably planted decades ago at this location when it was a farm. (Possibly it could be Catalpa speciosa, but it seems too small for that native American species.)
Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) is currently in bloom, as in the following shot. These flower stalks will eventually seed out and then dry out = an important food source for many birds in the winter.
Finally had some thunderstorms roll through Erie County, Pennsylvania yesterday afternoon. Today, Saturday, looks like it might be a nice day. Happy birding/nature!