August 3, 2014 - Summer in Minnesota

This is a Canadian Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. Back in June, when our Lilac bushes were blooming, we had at least a dozen of these butterflies gathering nectar from the purple blossoms. Minnesota also has an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly which looks very similar to this one. However, the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail isn’t usually found as far north as our home near Grand Rapids.

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Another visitor to our Lilac blossoms was this Snowberry Clearwing moth. It’s one of several moth species that are often referred to as “hummingbird moths.” It’s shaped like a hummingbird and is about the same size. It also hovers near flowers and takes nectar from them. Like a hummingbird, its wings beat so fast you can hardly see them. This moth is not very common so I was pleased to see one and get a nice photo of it.

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This is our state flower, the Showy Lady’s Slipper. I was pleased to find this pair of blossoms because, together, they show a front and side view of this beautiful flower. The side view is very interesting; the large white petals almost disappear when seen from that direction. The side view also gives a better look at the “slipper” shape that gives this flower part of its name.

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It’s very impressive when you find a large number of Lady’s Slippers grouped together like this.

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One subset of butterflies is called Skippers. This is a Silver-spotted Skipper. I found it in the large raspberry patch that surrounds our wind turbine.

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You really need to see the underside of this Skipper’s wings to understand the “silver-spotted” part of its name. Also, most butterflies have club-shaped ends on their antenna but skippers have scoop-shaped ends on their antenna, as you can see in this photo.

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I found this Yellow-throated Vireo along one of the county roads near our home. It likes to build its nest in deciduous forests. A map of its breeding territory nearly covers the entire eastern half of the United States. With its bright yellow throat and yellow “spectacles,” it is our most colorful vireo species. This was my first chance to photograph a Yellow-throated Vireo so I was pleased to get this shot.

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