Black and Yellow Swallowtails feeding at a robust stand of Butterfly Bush
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
May 2, 2023
Swallowtail Butterflies on Butterfly Bush
Tag Archives: Insect
Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly And Prey
An Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly perched on a leaf with a potential Mayfly snack on the underside.
A few minutes before I had watched another one of these damselflies chase a Mayfly. They both exhibited serious flying skills and that time the Mayfly prevailed. Here, I wondered if the damselfly knew the Mayfly was there.
Francis Beidler Forest, SC
April 7, 2023
Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly, Sparkly
An Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly, perhaps recently emerged based on the translucence of the wings.
Unfortunately his head isn’t in sharp focus, but the wings and shadow are interesting.
Francis Beidler Forest, SC
April 7, 2023
Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly, Open And Shut
If you wait long enough an Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly will open and close its wings.
Their outsized heads tend to make nice shadows in the right light.
Wings closed is their most common position when I have seen them.
They do chose some interesting leaves to land on, including this poison ivy.
Francis Beidler Forest, SC
March 31, 2023
Dragonfly, Perched on a Vine
Two years ago fellow blogger and dragonfly enthusiast Mike Powell (https://michaelqpowell.com/) identified a similar sighting of mine as “probably a juvenile female Great Blue Skimmer.”
I’m not much further along identifying dragonflies than I was then, especially females and juveniles.
I do like to photograph them even if I don’t know what they are, and liked the three different background options this one gave me.
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 30, 2023
Juvenile Blue Corporal Dragonfly
We’ve had some nights below freezing recently, and the day I took these didn’t get much above the mid 50s (10 C)Â so I was surprised to see any dragonfly.
I spent some time with my “Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East” book and searching online. I did not even come up with Blue Corporal as a possibility.
The ID was provided by Odonata of the Eastern United States Facebook group, with one very confident ID as a Juvenile male Blue Corporal Dragonfly, with several assents.
Audubon Center at Beidler Forest, Harleyville, SC
March 19, 2023
Butterfly on Native Azalea
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 5, 2023
First Damselfly Images Of The Year
I had actually seen a pair of damselflies a week or so ago but couldn’t get any usable images.
I saw two of these at the edge of a small pond that was mostly in the shade except for a few blades of a reed where one stopped to eat his prey.
I don’t know the ID, they were quite small, maybe an inch or inch and a half ( 2.5 – 4 cm).
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
February 23, 2023
Butterfly Contrast
Here’s another view of the bold Gulf Fritillary I featured yesterday.
In contrast, this one was tattered and faded.
That’s quite a chunk missing out of his forewing, and the hind wings have some damage, too. But he could still fly.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
November 26, 2022
Butterflies on Honeysuckle
As the morning warmed up I could smell the honeysuckle as I walked along the dike and pretty soon several butterflies appeared.
This Gulf Fritillary was a very bold orange, and in pristine shape like he had just hatched.
Several Skippers were intent on feeding from the underside of the leaves, this one popped out for just a moment.
This last butterfly looks like a Sulpher Butterfly, but was much smaller, about this size of a dime (Diameter 0.750 in. ~ 19.05 mm) . Research turns up it is likely a Little Yellow.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
November 26, 2022