V is for Various and Variety: ABC Wednesday

While looking through my photo archives in search of 'V' I was surprised to realize I had forgotten about the various V's I have in my Butterfly and Moth collection showing a variety of colourful patterns and designs.

My first two V's have part of their name in common, that being Variegated. The butterfly in the top photo above is a Variegated Fritillary and the one below it is of a Variegated Orange Moth.

The Viceroy's orange colour is uniform throughout and this species is sometimes confused with the Monarch. However, the Viceroy has a black band horizontally (or diagionally) across each of its hind wings and the Monarch does not have these black bands.

These last two V's are both moths and have very similar sounding names and are both Tiger Moths but definitely are quite different in their appearance. The white moth above is a Virginia Tiger Moth, while the one below it is that of a Virgin Tiger Moth.

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My appreciation and thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt's Place for hosting ABC Wednesday.

Smallmouth Bass

While standing on a footbridge above, looking down into the river searching for Snapping Turtles, I could see this Smallmouth Bass swimming about in the clear water below. I watched as this gamefish followed a waterbug a short distance before turning away from it, and then watched as an angler tried to lure it with his line, but the Bass also turned away from that too.

Sunday Journal

I really should call this post, Turtle Day, as it is mainly about Snapping Turtles, but I saw a few other fascinating creatures yesterday too so I think I'll stick with the title, Sunday Journal. Since June of 2000, I have watched for Snapping Turtles laying eggs along the embankment of the railroad tracks and the first sure sign that this yearly activity is underway is seeing a turtle in the river near the shore. These huge turtles climb the steep embankment to return to the same spot each year that they lay their eggs. Yesterday morning around nine, a neighbour arrived in our garden with the news that there was a huge Snapping Turtle in the river! Grabbing my camera we hurried down but there was no Snapping Turtle to be seen. However being wary of their ways I returned to the river at 10:30 am, and there she was! This is a great location for viewing the river for there is a railroad bridge above, with a footbridge attached to it, and it gives great views of, and in the river below. The bridge also affords wonderful views of any large birds flying overhead following the river, such as Eagles, Osprey and in the case yesterday, a Great Blue Heron! Also on my way to the river I had noticed some moths on a public building that has a large light overhead which attracts them to this location overnight. One species that I always find very beautiful is the Rosy Maple Moth. There were several of these rosy, pinkish' moths with yellow fluffy looking heads. And so I returned home to get my close up lens. I was surprised that one of the moths was yellowish, without the usual pink markings that I am used to seeing, but researching this I found that there can be variations as to its colouring. Meanwhile, back to my turtle story. A little after noon my neighbour arrives in my yard again with the news that the turtle seen in the river earlier is now on top of the embankment and will probably be laying its eggs! Okay, I went to get my camera again and this is now the third trip of the day to the river! And there is was, as shown above, resting in the grass at the edge of the steep hill. A word of caution here; never go too near a Snapping Turtle as its neck has an amazing long reach and can snap and bite, and like any creature, who likes to be disturbed? I am standing well back at quite a distance, across the railroad tracks from the turtle, using my 400mm zoom lens. We didn't stay but later saw a rather messy looking disturbed ground area when eggs probably had been laid. My neighbour and I congratulated ourselves on doing a fine bit of investigating on following up on the turtle sighting and returned home. But the turtle story wasn't over yet. During late afternoon I decided to go for a short drive along a favourite country road when I have been watching for butterflies and skippers near a maturing Milkweed patch and what surprise was waiting for me here but another turtle! This time is was a Wood Turtle crossing the road. The Wood Turtle is a land turtle and I don't often see one. This was definitely a turtle day! But remember I had said earlier that the turtle story wasn't over yet? Well, I had meant the Snapping Turtle story for shortly after I had arrived home again, yup, you guessed it, there was my neighbour again in my yard with a story of yet another Snapping Turtle in the river. Below is the result of my fourth trip to the river that day!

Transience or Permanence: One Single Impression

a transparency
only seeming to blend in
individual

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nature controlling
urges within create change
metamorphosis

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never permanent

continuum of stages
transience journey

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These haiku verses were inspired by the words, transience or permanence; which is this week's prompt at the site of One Single Impression . For more poetry on this theme please visit the hosting site.

Blue on Blue

I couldn't believe my luck when I saw this beautiful, small, blue butterfly sitting on a leaf with its wings wide open; and then I couldn't believe my eyes when I realized it was a Spring Azure for I have never gotten a picture of one before, nor even remember -ed having seen one. So this was a special find for me when I had gone for a walk around the pond. Yesterday was another lucky day for I found these beautiful, Silvery Blues in a small patch of Purple Vetch on a hillside where I had gone walking.

Manoeuvring Around A Corner

A visual demonstration on how to take corners carefully.

The task successfully completed, its on its way again ...

These beetles seem to be partial to Purple Vetch for this is the second day in a row that I have found them feeding on this plant.

Road Map of a Leaf

Earlier this week I had found some miniature baby yellow spiders and after that encounter I had decided it was time to purchase a good macro lens. I was quite anxious to try it out and so when it arrived yesterday I went in search of smaller creatures that I usually don't include in my photography landscapes. Below are a few pictures of a beautifully designed little beetle that I had discovered.

How far is the moon?
Will I get there before noon?

Should have followed that detour sign
When I started out on this climb

A refreshing rest for a time
While enjoying this beautiful coastline

White on White

white mustard upon

wild white strawberry blossoms

in the meadow sun

You might have to look for a second before you see the Mustard White butterfly upon the Wild Strawberry Blossom.

Skippers

You've probably seen them, and like me perhaps thought of them as miniature butterflies. In reality, these tiny winged creatures looking like butterflies are known as Skippers, apparently not true butterflies. They are very small and their bodies seem to appear proportion -ally larger to their wings than a butterfly's does and they have an angular appearance to them. Note the body size on this skipper pictured above appears to be quite large in the first two photos. This is an Arctic Skipper. A couple of other skippers I have photographed and identified this spring are as follows; first a Peck's Skipper and lastly a Northern Cloudywing.

There is a wide variety of Skippers out there and it is fun to try to identify them, although it is not always easy. I shall be posting others as the spring and summer progresses. The field guide I use as a reference source is: Butterflies through Binoculars The East A Field Guide To The Butterflies of Eastern North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, Oxford University Press, 1999

Baby Yellow Spiders

I was walking through a meadow very slowly yesterday morning, looking at wildflowers and enjoying the sudden appearance of butterflies and moths as my feet disturbed the grass, when I saw a small clump of some sort of eggs. Upon closer inspection I could see that it was a group of baby yellow spiders! As I was taking a macro picture of them my camera must have touched the web that they were attached to, for instantly they sprung apart, as if the slight touch had triggered their reaction.

I googled the words, "baby yellow spiders" and found several photos similar to mine. On one site, The British Arachnological Society answers the question, "What are those bundles of tiny yellow spiders with a black spot?", and it describes very well the same sort of instant dispersal of the baby spiders that I had seen when I had touched the web with my camera lens.

Unidentified Dragonflies

I find dragonflies fascinating and beautiful. Also, I find them very difficult to identify. I found this dragonfly last week at the edge of a meadow near some Pines. I wonder if it might possibly be a Stygian Shadow -hunter? I have a Field Guide to Dragonflies and Damselflies of Massachusetts (Nikula, Loose and Burne) and on p. 149 there is a picture of a Dragonhunter that looks somewhat similar to the one in my photos. The Stygian Shadow -hunter has a bit of amber on its wings as does the dragonfly I had seen. Other features that are helpful in identifying dragonflies are the little patches near the end of their wings called Stigma. Another key feature leading to a dragonfly's identity is the colour and shape of the patterns that make up the designs on its abdominal segments. And there are other features to be considered as well in making a correct identification. I would appreciate comments from anyone who might be able to help me in correctly identifying this dragonfly.

And while I'm asking; does anyone know who this one shown below might be? Isn't the world just full of fascinating creatures!

Osprey: Fish Hunter- Sky Watch Friday

patrolling the sky

scanning for fish in water
osprey fish hunter

flutter and hover

seeing fish shadows below

preparing to dive

swift steep plunging dive

plummeting down through the air

hunger is appeased

My many thanks to Tom Wigley for hosting Sky Watch Friday . For other Sky Watch entries please visit Tom's page.