Two other dragonflies kept me company on the meadow. The brown wing patches on the Halloween Pennant’s wings are thought by some to shade its body on hot days. Two of its three simple eyes shine above they’re believed to improve its navigation in changing light and also may help stabilize them as they speedily change course above the greenery. Luckily you can still see its vivid coloring and the huge compound eyes on either side of its head (with nearly 30,000 lenses). This one insisted on looking straight at me until it zoomed away. These small dragonflies stay aloft more easily on windy days than other dragonflies and can even fly in light rain, shaking the water off their wings in flight. A female Blue Dasher in its typical resting pose – wings forward.Īnother denizen of the fields, the Halloween Pennant dragonfly ( Celithemis eponina) foraged with a bouncy flight.His blue thorax turns lighter over the summer. A mature Blue Dasher dragonfly I saw in 2017.The female Dasher lays her eggs by flying over still water and repeatedly dipping her ovipositor into the surface to release her eggs. It has the coloring of a female, but a much slimmer body than an adult. The striking male Blue Dasher ( Pachydiplax longipennis) with a green face zipped by me, but it was the juvenile Dasher who settled on a stick. Territorial Dragonfliesĭragonflies patrol over the meadows as well, zinging here and there in an effort to establish territory and find a mate. Paul and I hoped this Monarch would lay eggs for us on this Butterfly Milkweed. ![]() For lots more details on Monarchs, check out the blog that features them. With luck, this one will help set in motion the “super generation” of Monarchs they make the whole 3,000 mile journey to Mexico where they overwinter. Here it’s sipping from Butterfly Milkweed.Īren’t you always happy to see Monarch butterflies ( Danaus plexippus)? The one my photographer friend Paul and I saw in the meadow arrived from somewhere between Mexico and Michigan, wherever its forebears stopped to lay eggs. The Great Spangled Fritillary gets its name from the shine of the large silver spots on its hind wings. In our parks, they prefer native Wild Bergamot/Bee Balm ( Monarda fistulosa), thistles and milkweed, according to the Butterflies of Michigan Field Guide by Jaret C. ![]() Their caterpillars have a fondness for Common Blue Violets ( Viola sororia), so they will occasionally appear on lawns. It dashed across the field, landing for a few seconds, then fluttering off again just above the flowers. Once out in the open meadows, I paused to appreciate the frenetic flight of the Great Spangled Fritillary ( Speyeria cybele). The Meadow Trail: Butterflies, Dragonflies and Rolling Meadows of Wildflowers Foraging Butterflies
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