Tag Archives: prairies

Weekend Critters

Posted on July 17, 2019 by the roused bear

I was able to hit a couple of prairie areas this weekend and admire the creatures that live in them. One thing the wordpress blogging site does when you insert a photograph is to insert a photo caption.  By default, … Continue reading →

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More Time in the Prairie

Posted on July 6, 2019 by the roused bear

I spent some time at Medora Prairie in Warren County today, photographing butterflies, getting my head on straight, and scratching my legs on the raspberries. I got a good look at a little yellow as I went in. These common … Continue reading →

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Butterflies of the Interstate

Posted on June 26, 2018 by the roused bear

In Iowa we have had some long-term efforts to manage roadsides with native prairie plants.  The Tallgrass Prairie Center at the University of Northern Iowa has been a leader in the effort. So if you go to the Huxley-Slater interchange … Continue reading →

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A Pleasant Morning

Posted on September 16, 2017 by the roused bear

I went to an Iowa Prairie Network event today, at the Lomp Lengeling Farms near Collins, Iowa.  Parts of the farm, including a small but diverse prairie remnant and some degraded savanna are being managed in order to aid the … Continue reading →

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Failing at Butterflies (but working through it)

Posted on July 4, 2017 by the roused bear

There is an old saying that a bad day fishing beats a good day at work.  The same is true about chasing butterflies.  Still, when you do something you love to do there are times it just does not work … Continue reading →

Posted in butterflies, common buckeye, Junonia coenia, little yellow, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

On Ripley Esker

Posted on June 17, 2017 by the roused bear

One of my job duties requires me to go to Camp Ripley in Minnesota about every year.  We do an internal audit of our Environmental Management System, and since you cannot audit yourself (or the work you have done), we … Continue reading →

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Today’s Bugs

Posted on August 1, 2015 by the roused bear

I was able to take a little time today to travel to a local prairie and met some friends there.  Officially it was a prairie walk, but several of us were more into the insects, and we had a good … Continue reading →

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Three Habitats

Posted on November 6, 2014 by the roused bear

This summer, I was able to attend a bioblitz at the Whiterock Conservancy near Coon Rapids, Iowa. On one of the field trips we saw three types of habitat typical to Iowa.  We traveled through the first two to find … Continue reading →

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Green-eyed Lady

Posted on August 7, 2014 by the roused bear

I just got back from a work trip to Camp Ripley in central Minnesota.  I took the opportunity to visit some local wild areas there after work.  There is a SNA site called The Ripley Esker.  I was mainly chasing … Continue reading →

Posted in diptera, insects | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Royalty, Just Above the Mud

Posted on July 7, 2014 by the roused bear

Yesterday I went to Medora Prairie, which is owned by The Nature Conservancy, in search of the magnificent regal fritillary,  Speyeria idalia.  I did find some, but most were where I had not expected to see them.  The limited access … Continue reading →

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