-
Recent Posts
Archives
- November 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
March 2023 M T W T F S S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 - Andrew Jackson
- ants
- autumn
- bee flies
- bees
- biological diversity
- Biology
- Black Hawk
- butterflies
- butterfly
- butterfly big year
- butterfly conservation
- butterfly surveys
- conservation
- Crocus
- damselflies
- Day of Insects
- death
- diptera
- Dragonflies
- eastern comma
- fall colors
- flies
- flowers
- Formica exsectoides
- George Catlin
- great spangled fritillary
- Helen Fitch Parker
- Henry Parker
- Ice
- Indian removal
- Insect
- insects
- Iowa
- Iowa History
- J. B. Grinnell
- Keokuk
- Kinetitrophic
- lichens
- macro photography
- Mahaska
- Meskwaki
- monarch
- moss
- mosses
- moths
- mourning cloak
- nature
- northern pearly eye
- oarisma poweshiek
- orange sulfur
- Outdoors
- painted lady
- parasites
- photography
- Plants
- politics
- pollinators
- Poweshiek
- prairies
- rain
- red admiral
- robber flies
- Sauk
- seasons
- silver-spotted skipper
- snails
- snow
- spiders
- spring
- summer azure
- Vanessa atalanta
- viceroy
- wildlife
- winter
Blogroll
Nature web sites
Other sites I like
Category Archives: butterflies
Butterfly Big Year AAR
The butterfly big year is over. Here is my After Action Report. This is what I did, what went right, what went wrong, and what I would do different if I wanted to do it again. My goal was to … Continue reading
Chasing the Elusive Red Admiral–Big Year Update #16
With summer ending I wanted to make one last trip. This time, rather than visiting some new location I thought I would visit a couple of sites I had been to before. I planned to visit the Barkhausen-Cache River Wetlands … Continue reading
Posted in butterflies, common buckeye, eastern tailed-blue, gray hairstreak, Uncategorized
Tagged butterflies, butterfly big year
2 Comments
Big Year Update #15: Two Safeties and a Field Goal
My butterfly big year is not over yet, but it will be sometime soon. I may or may not do another trip–I haven’t decided yet. My big year is starting to feel in some ways like Saturday’s football game between … Continue reading
Hiding in Plain Sight–Big Year Update 13
One of the things I have found surprising about my butterfly big year is the difficulty I have had finding and photographing some normally common species. I got quick glimpses of a red admiral on a couple of occasions, but … Continue reading
Butterfly Church–Butterfly Big Year Update #8
I went to my Butterfly Church yesterday. It is a special place where I usually can find that feeling of peace that I don’t often have in my life. I chase butterflies there, but I also take a folding chair … Continue reading
The Butterfly Big Year has Started
Birders sometimes do something called a “big year.” During a calendar year, they try to see and identify as many of the bird species in a particular area as they can. A few butterfliers have done something similar, most famously … Continue reading
Posted in butterflies, Uncategorized
Tagged butterflies, butterfly big year, macro photography
Leave a comment
How to find Henry’s Elfin In Iowa
Spring is here, and with it are all the wonderful things like spring wildflowers, birds and frogs calling, and early butterflies. Many of Iowa’s butterflies are pretty common, and you will run across them even if you are not looking … Continue reading
More Insects
Summer allows me to get out, sometimes for just a few minutes a day and sometimes for much longer. The critters that are out are not too rare, but can be quite spectacular never the less. These cabbage white butterflies … Continue reading
Posted in Biological diversity, butterflies, damselflies, mudding, Silver-spotted skipper, Uncategorized
Tagged insects, macro photography
Leave a comment
Another Day in the Prairie
I went to Medora Prairie this morning, and did what I do–wandered around with a camera trying to find butterflies. And I found some. One of the first butterflies I saw was this coral hairstreak. It was a first-of-the year … Continue reading
Posted in butterflies, gray hairstreak, rural scenics, Uncategorized
Tagged macro photography, nature
Leave a comment
I Love Milkweed!
We have sixteen species of milkweed here in Iowa. Some are quite rare and are a special treat to find. Common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca is not rare, and is found in a lot of our degraded habitats. It often grows … Continue reading