Cedars Posted May 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 I just received confirmation on a Bee species that is new for Bugguide! They havent moved it to its new section yet, but this is my first confirmed new to bugguide submission! I believe this is what the final Classification will look like: Family: Halictidae (Sweat Bees)Subfamily: HalictinaeTribe: HalictiniGenus: LasioglossumNo Taxon: (Subgenus Dialictus)Species: vierecki (Lasioglossum vierecki) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeztar Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 Yes, its a Zebra Swallowtail - Eurytides marcellus: Species Eurytides marcellus - Zebra Swallowtail - BugGuide.Net Thanks again Cedars! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted May 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 I also spotted this iridescent fly and managed to get a decent shot of it. It measured about 1/3 of an inch long (visual estimation). I got a ways thru the flies section and think this may fall under Longlegged flies: Family Dolichopodidae - Longlegged Flies - BugGuide.Net Genus Condylostylus maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted June 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 The cool weather this spring has slowed many things including the Dragonflies. But they have begun to hatch out in earnest and are crowding the skies. It got very cool at last week and allowed for this photograph of a group of dragonflies warming up together. I have not been able to ID them yet, but am thinking they are juvenal corporals or skimmers. I think the white band along the inside of the wing may be an ID feature and I think the white body hair will lessen with time. I had to resize pic 1 ALOT due to size limits. Pic 2 is the actual size of one of the dragonflies from the first pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeztar Posted June 2, 2008 Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 The cool weather this spring has slowed many things including the Dragonflies. But they have begun to hatch out in earnest and are crowding the skies. It got very cool at last week and allowed for this photograph of a group of dragonflies warming up together. I have not been able to ID them yet, but am thinking they are juvenal corporals or skimmers. I think the white band along the inside of the wing may be an ID feature and I think the white body hair will lessen with time. I had to resize pic 1 ALOT due to size limits. Pic 2 is the actual size of one of the dragonflies from the first pic. What plant stem are they "warming up to"?It seems to be the place to congregate. I wonder why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted June 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 What plant stem are they "warming up to"?It seems to be the place to congregate. I wonder why? The stem is a dead branch from last year. The type of plant we call wild raspberry. I dont know if they are native or escaped domestics. The fruits get smaller and smaller and you have a 50-50 chance of what berries you pick being very bitter or very sweet. The tend to drive out the much more pleasing blackberries, which makes me think they are escapee's. The cold weather was driving most of the dragonflies that had hatched very low. Many were hidden in the grasses. The exposure for this particular photo was eastern and open for the full sun for the first half of the day and offered a good view of the surroundings (edge of the driveway). I think this open warmth was the attraction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted June 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 A unique butterfly, its caterpillar is a predator which feeds on wholly aphids. This is the only predatory caterpillar I am aware of in the USA. Over the years I have seen these butterflies a few times, not a very common sighting. Reviewing Bugguide, the caterpillars have been photographed and I now know I have seen these also in the past. Will be on the lookout this summer for these cats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeztar Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 A unique butterfly, its caterpillar is a predator which feeds on wholly aphids. This is the only predatory caterpillar I am aware of in the USA. Over the years I have seen these butterflies a few times, not a very common sighting. Reviewing Bugguide, the caterpillars have been photographed and I now know I have seen these also in the past. Will be on the lookout this summer for these cats! Looks like a regular ole moth to me. :shrug: ;) Great photo! I've got an eye out for these now. They apparently live south of GA to mid-Florida so this one is a possible find here. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 Inspired by Cedar's photos & study, I have planted 2 large packets of Pacific Northwest Flowers mix in the hope of attracting some bugs & butterflies to photograph. :shrug: It'll be a while yet, as they have only just sprouted, but I have one of those eyes Freezy mentioned out too. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted June 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 Looks like a regular ole moth to me. :eek_big: ;) Great photo! I've got an eye out for these now. They apparently live south of GA to mid-Florida so this one is a possible find here. :doh: Just an ole MOTH!! Well at least you didnt call it a bug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted June 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 Inspired by Cedar's photos & study, I have planted 2 large packets of Pacific Northwest Flowers mix in the hope of attracting some bugs & butterflies to photograph. :eek_big: It'll be a while yet, as they have only just sprouted, but I have one of those eyes Freezy mentioned out too. :doh: excellent! I love to inspire. I have a new Crex buddy who joins me on most of my treks this year. She was into birds first then flowers. Should have seen her face when I found the Hog nosed snake. Click click click. Shes starting to send me bug pics for IDing. A new convert to the wider world of Holy cow Theres alot of bugs! Maybe you'll get a few new bees too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted June 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 For the butterfly people in Minnesota and Wisconsin, I have been picking up on some disappointment with this years scouting. Things have been really slow. Talking with the wildlife biologist yesterday, the Crex Meadows Karner Blue butterfly count resulted in One sighting in around 100 spot checks. He wondered if its an effect of the drought last year. Others have wondered if its the cold weather. However, there have been some bursts of life lately, in my yard and the meadows. My Arctic skipper and Hobomok Skipper count was high in my yard and for the meadows, I have not seen as many before. This week, the grass skippers burst out in VERY large numbers as did the Silver-Bordered Fritillary. But thats not what inspired this post. I just received verification of my submission of the European skipper I spotted on Crex Meadows yesterday. This is a first sighting for the county! No historic record existed, no other observers had spotted one before. Its not often I get to report a new for a county butterfly, but thats two this week (the harvester was a first for that county in Minnesota). Overdog 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougF Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 congratulations Cedars I take my hat off to you, your name is now part of history, as so it should be. :shrug: I now bestow upon you the Hypography metal of merit, may you wear it with all of the honor that it bestows. B) Cedars 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 No butterflies yet, but the wildflowers have started blooming so I am hopeful. :) I did see bees today for the first time this season; 2 types of wild bees and some domestic honey bees all going for the Sunflowers. Here's a couple of wild ones hard at work. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted August 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2008 Well I hit another goal animal yesterday. In Crex Meadows, we came across two of these guys. Very docile little butterflies, once they land. Bummer was open wing shots were few and fuzzy. The Karner Blue is the only Blue in this area whos outside wing margins have the orange spotting onto the upper wing, making it pretty easy to ID once they land. This one seems to be a male. I did not get an open wing on the second butterfly, so I dont know if it was male or female. The Karner Blue is one of the protected butterflies. This guy is sucking up minerals from a Gray wolf poo. I find it an added bonus, that one protected species is nourishing from another protected species. Interesting info on Karners: Karner Blue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Turtle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeztar Posted August 7, 2008 Report Share Posted August 7, 2008 Interesting. The blue variety (like the pic at wiki) would match nicely with the lupine flowers they are said to love. I wonder if the white variety has the same affinity. :eek_big: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted August 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 Interesting. The blue variety (like the pic at wiki) would match nicely with the lupine flowers they are said to love. I wonder if the white variety has the same affinity. You mean white Lupine? BTW, I discovered there is a very similar species, the Northern Blue (Lycaeides idas) that could be confused with the Karner and has the orange going up the outside of both wings. But the Northern Blue and Karner habitats are not known to overlap in Wisconsin, and there are no known Northern Blues in any of the counties surrounding Crex Meadows. Northern Blues and Karners have very different caterpillar host plants also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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