Category Archives: insects

Late Season Critters

Posted on September 23, 2018 by

Our weather has cooled down lately, particularly at night.  It is still warm enough for most of the insects though, so I went to a backwater area of Big Creek State Park and took some photos. This eastern tailed-blue was … Continue reading →

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In the Grand Scheme of Things….

Posted on September 10, 2018 by

You have to wonder–what kind of guy would spend an inordinate amount of his time posting photographs of insects to the internet?  I don’t know.  Seems like an odd thing to do. I just sat outside on my little patio … Continue reading →

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Cool Fly

Posted on September 4, 2018 by

Some sort of dance fly.

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On Bugshot Alabama

Posted on August 14, 2018 by

I just got back from a macro photography workshop called Bugshot Alabama.  These workshops have been going on for several years and are named after their locations–typically some place with high biological diversity. This is from the outside a pretty … Continue reading →

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More Big Bug Adventures

Posted on July 22, 2018 by

I went to Waubonsie State Park yesterday, taking pictures of the small wildlife.  Waubonsie State Park is a very diverse natural area in Iowa.  Prairies, woodlands, and loess hills are all part of the park. Red-spotted purples are fairly common … Continue reading →

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The Coolest Fly Ever!

Posted on July 14, 2018 by

Today I did a little bit of walking around with my camera, and came across what is probably my favorite fly.  These flies are pretty impressive. Mydas flies are huge.  This one is probably Mydas tibialis, the golden-legged mydas fly. For … Continue reading →

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More Bugs

Posted on July 10, 2018 by

I spent a little bit of time yesterday at Big Creek State Park. This is a sand wasp, a Bembix species.  This was a very noisy, active wasp.  It was hard to photograph because it was so active. Another wasp–smaller, not … Continue reading →

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Two Bees or Not Two Bees

Posted on July 8, 2018 by

I made a brief stop in the I-35 Huxley-Slater interchange today to see what insects were flying. This bee, probably a leaf cutter bee, was on purple coneflower. Wild bergamot also had an insect visitor.  I am pretty sure it … Continue reading →

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A Nice Summer Day

Posted on July 7, 2018 by

We had a really nice day today–warm but not too hot.  I took advantage and visited Big Creek Park near one of the backwater areas.  Swamp milkweed was in bloom and attracting lots of visitors. This unusual fly is common … Continue reading →

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Another Attempt to find the Poweshiek Skipper

Posted on June 23, 2018 by

Oarisma poweshiek is a small butterfly that was discovered and first described from Grinnell, Iowa in 1870.  When the prairies were here it was probably quite common, although it only flies as an adult for about a week or two.  … Continue reading →

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