Aug. 25, 2013 - Misc. Photos-1
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This Northern Pearly-eye butterfly landed on the porch window at our northern Minnesota home. The reflection of the butterfly and the background were so dramatic that I just had to take this photo. It has a wingspan of about 2 inches and prefers wooded areas in the northern United States and southern Canada.
At night, when I’m trying to photograph moths, I sometimes find other insects like this Caddisfly that are attracted to the light. It landed on a window and this photo was taken with flash. The reflection is quite sharp but the actual insect is the one on the left. The website BugGuide.net says there are over 1350 species of Caddisflies in North America. Many of them are so similar that it is very difficult to identify them from a photo. I had a Caddisfly expert offer to identify my specimens if I would capture them and send them to him. That was a very nice offer, but I think I’m going to be happy just calling them Caddisflies.
This colorful insect is a Nymphula Moth and it was attracted to our porch light. It’s fairly small with a wingspan of an inch or less. BugGuide.net lists its range as the Great Lakes area. The larvae are said to feed on Yellow Water Lilies and we certainly have lots of those on our lake.
Most bird photographers will agree that Northern Harriers are a difficult bird to photograph. They are constantly flying quite low over marshes and fields and seem to head in the opposite direction whenever a camera is pointed at them. I was fortunate to find this male (he’s gray on the head and back and females are brown) along County Road 10 in Itasca County. When I saw the look he was giving me, I was glad I wasn’t a mouse because I would have been his dinner for sure.
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