The Meridian Skipper, Erynnis meridianus, is unrolling his proboscis in preparation for gathering nectar from the Dakota Vervain flowers he is on. Visible here are the transparent spots on a uniform brown colored underside of the wings.

The Meridian Skipper is a member of the Hesperiidae or Skipper family of butterflies. This specimen is busily nectaring from a Dakota Vervain flower. I am always amazed at the way these tiny beings are able to locate and probe complex flower parts with their “long straw”.

This image shows a Meridian Skipper rolling up his proboscis in preparation for moving to another flower. His species belongs to the subfamily Pyrginae which are the Open-Winged Skippers. This individual has his wings partially open which is acceptable for membership in this group. It is also handy to be able to see the wing markings and colors which help identify this little fella. Note the white “fringe” on the wing margins.

In this final image, you can see the proboscis almost completely coiled for storage prior to flight. What an incredible, complex appendage in such “simple” creatures.

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The bumble bee in this picture is Bombus pennsylvanicus and it is collecting nectar from the bloom of Echinacea purpurea. Notice the pollen collected on the hind-leg of the bee.  For more information, visit the links below.

Echinacea purpurea at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Iowa State University’s Department of Entomology’s BugGuide

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Saw this pretty butterfly a while ago when I still had access to the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. I am continually amazed at the way butterflies are able to maneuver their proboscis into the tiniest of flowers.

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This fella showed up in my patio garden one September morning and remained long enough for me to fetch my camera, change to my close-up lens and take pictures for about 5 minutes. I was astonished by the color of this dragonfly as I had never seen one like it before. When I looked this fella up on Wikipedia, I found he was in the family Libellulidae, the skimmers, and that this native to western North America was a member of  the species Libellula saturata.

I admire dragonflies for their beauty and the fact that they have existed for millions of years. Additionally, their offspring consume mosquito larvae, and as winged adults they prey on mosquito and other flying insects. You can see how their first two pairs of legs form a basket shape which they use to scoop up prey as they fly.

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There was a breeding swarm of Goldenrod Soldier beetles, Chauliognathis pennsylvanicus, family Cantharidae that invaded our collection of potted plants this fall. The flower is Chrysanthemum sp. and is an Asian member of the Asteraceae family. These flowers were 1.5 inches in diameter, a small flowered mum. For 3 days, we had these beetles all over our plant collection, they fed on the nectar but did no harm to the plants.

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