Late Summer Insects in the Prairie

Walking around my Prairie the last few weeks turned up a number of different insects.

Honey Bee

Grasshopper

Milkweed Bug

Monarch Caterpillar and Milkweed Beetle

 

What’s out now in the Prairie

 

I was going to call this blog slim pickings because most of the summer birds are gone, there are only a few stray butterflies around  and most of the fall flowers are done blooming. I’ve been out in the woods this past week cutting firewood and as I looked around it appeared that there was not much worth photographing. This past weekend I finally decided to break out the camera and see if I could find anything to photograph. Turns out I wasn’t looking close enough when I was cutting wood. Once I had the camera out I started finding quite a few things to photograph.

 

Milkweed Beetles

The milkweed bugs are out in full force this time of year. I’m a little surprised to still find some baby milkweed bugs around with the adults. In some places the milkweed is all dried up but around the house it is still green and it is the green plants where I’m finding the bugs.

 

Woolly Bear

The woolly bear Caterpillar are also out in large numbers. I started to do some mowing in the prairie areas but decided to hold off because there are so many woolly bears around. I’ve tried to photograph them early in the morning but it is hard because they are usually spending the night under a leaf or a flower.

 

Wild Mint

I found a patch of what I think is Wild Mint. It has gone to seed but the seed head is interesting and I have been trying to get a photo of it covered with a heavy dew or frost.

 

The grasshoppers are out in large numbers but they don’t seem to be willing to  pose for photos most of the time. I have managed to photograph a few of them..

 

Honey Bee

There are still bees around. I like to try and find them early in the morning when they are on a flower and not moving. Unfortunately they are usually hanging under the flower so it is sometimes difficult to photograph them.

 

Dragonfly

I have been see quite a few large dragonflies flitting about the prairie area but they don’t seem to be landing. I think they are migrating through. I happen to find this small one on some grass just before dusk one night.

 

As noted in an earlier post the Sumac is in full color now. Sumac is the first to turn and a sure sign of fall.