A large Yellow Swallowtail was working all around a planting of purple salvia.
The butterfly was working hard, in almost constant motion.
As was I as I circled the garden seeking a fully open wing image.
Middleton Plantation, Charleston, SC
September 14, 2021
I’ve recently commented that I haven’t seen many butterflies this summer. Last week at Middleton Place I was surprised to find several species, three that were attracted to Lantana.
First was this rather tattered Black Swallowtail.
This Buckeye was another tattered example.
Then a very good looking Fritillary. I always say the ones I see are Gulf Fritillaries, but that may not be true.
I borrowed Ted’s Tamron 18-400 MM lens this morning and put the range flexibility to good use when I spotted an Eastern Pondhawk on a Lily Pad.
I got a decent closer image of the dragonfly and his shadow.
And a nice view of the scene without changing lenses or cameras.
A small dragonfly working on his hand-stand pose on a hot day.
September 6, 2021
A very large spider web stretched across this opening looking out onto a rice field pond.
A couple of what I think are Black and Yellow Garden Spiders can be seen, along with several dragonflies that met their end in the web.
There’s more detail of the catch if you want to zoom in on the spider wrapping his prey.
Further along the dike another large spider had set up shop. I took the photo because I liked the leaf. When I processed the image I was amazed at the number of little items that had been snagged.
I potted this rather large grasshopper on a wooden walkway leading out to a river overlook.
I fully expected him to hop as I passed by.
He had other ideas and just walked slowly along.
A lone bee was busy working these pink blooms on a recent morning.
The blossoms remind me of a roof-top satellite dish, communicating in secret to the bee.
He seemed to get the message.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
August 31, 2021
This dragonfly, which I think is a Common Whitetail, was going back and forth between a patch of grass and a sidewalk, perching for 20 or 30 seconds in each place.
He might have been overstuffed with mosquitoes as there was no shortage of them after me.
ID corrections welcome.
I first thought it might be a Banded Pennant, the described variations on each species are confounding.
Hampton Plantation, McClellanville, SC
August 26, 2021
This was my first Gulf Fritillary sighting this summer.
This one gave me quite a few views around this purple flower spike.
Including a view of his fully open wings.
And lastly, a side view as he climbed the spike.
August 23, 2021
Here we are staring at the door of September and I have dragonfly images left from early July. Time to move them on!
Fence pickets make great perches and are at a great height for photography.
On the other side of that fence a piece of rebar attracted a Roseate Skimmer.
A slope down into a pond was covered with little flowers and and grass seed heads for perches.
Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
July 7, 2021
