Aug. 22, 2010 - Insects at Dunning Lake

At our lake home in northern Minnesota, one of the active butterflies at this time of the year is the Great Spangled Fritillary. This one landed in an oak tree in our yard. It is a common species, found in open areas over much of North America.

ButterflyFritillaryGreatSpangledDunningLake20100717

This is a front view of a Great Spangled Fritillary. Notice that the pattern on the undersides of the wings is different from the pattern on the upper sides in the previous photo. The spots, which are actually silvery in color, look green in this photo because of the reflection from the grass below.

ButterflyFritillaryGreatSpangledDunningLake20100813

I included this close-up so you can see the interesting eye pattern of this butterfly. Also, note the long proboscis which has been uncoiled in order to sip nectar from the flower.

ButterflyFritillaryGreatSpangledDunningLake20100813

If you’ve seen a small, white butterfly fluttering from flower to flower, it might well have been a Cabbage White. Accidently introduced near Montreal in the 1860s, they are now found over all of North America. They are considered an agricultural pest because the caterpillars do eat cabbage and other related plants. This one has two black dots on the upper side of each forewing; that identifies it as a female. A male would only have one black dot. You can also get a good look at the proboscis being used to sip nectar from the Daisy.

ButterflyCabbageWhiteDunningLake20100806

This damselfly is a male Eastern Forktail. He has eyes that are green below and black above with small green spots on the top. His thorax is also green below and black above and has green stripes on the top. The tip of his abdomen is blue. They can be found from the Atlantic Coast to the Midwest and from north of Florida to southern Canada.

DamselflyForktailEasternmaleDunningLake20100710

Here’s a female Eastern Forktail; you will notice she looks quite different from the male. She is powdery blue all over. Just to make things even more confusing, the juvenile female is orange and black.

DamselflyForktailEasternmaturefemaleDunningLake20100710

This striking butterfly is a White Admiral. Butterflies are often seen on an area of wet ground like this one. Such behavior, called “puddling”, allows them to ingest essential minerals.

ButterflyWhiteAdmiralDunningLake20100805