Phil sent me a gift, the photos he took while I was dining.
Summer Azure (Celastrina neglecta) Wingspan 0.80 - 1.25 inches (2.0 - 3.2 cm.)
Hackberry Butterfly (Asterocampa celtis) Wingspan 2.0 - 2.6 inches (5.1 - 6.6 cm.)
If I think of Hackberry Butterflies in human terms, I think of them as the friendly sort who never meet a stranger. They are inquisitive and often land on passing humans. Sometimes they even ride along on our shoulder or back as we walk.
Here is a cousin of the butterflies, a moth. We always see a variety of moths when we walk. Most of them are not as easy to identify as are the butterflies.
Usually near Cattail Pond we see Dragonflies. Using the field guide, Dragonflies Through Binoculars by Sidney W. Dunkle, I am tentatively identifying it as a young male Common Whitetail (Libellula lydia) The mature male has a bluish white tail. This is one of the King Skimmers.
Phil took several photos of Daddy Longlegs, Here is one.
Many people call them harvestmen. Like spiders, they belong to the family of Arachnids. According to Kaufman's Field Guide to Insects of North America (which includes some Arachnids) they eat insects and other arthropods but also eat dead insects and drink plant juices.
Other interesting creatures the group saw include this white-tailed deer and a caterpillar which looks like it must be another Wild Indigo Duskywing caterpillar, much larger than the two we saw on earlier walks.
The photo below was taken near the drive into the Interpretative Center. We saw these same glistening transparent golden globes on the Stinging Nettles last year. They are about the size of a pea. I don't know if anyone in our group has learned what they are.
Happy Birthday a bit late! Your birthday dinners sounded really good and to have a grand that is a chef...wow how lucky are you! We are starting to see a few butterrflies now...so far they have been too fast for me:)
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