Blue Dasher

Our first Blue Dasher of the year, 24 June 2017, in Erika’s garden. Blue Dashers are often abundant across most of the United States. Only Montana and Wyoming lack records in Odonata Central. They perch with their wings slanted downward from treetops to almost ground level. They often return to their perches, making photography somewhat easier. 

Blue Dashers are fierce predators. They take over 10% of their body weight in prey every day. They are aggressive towards competing males, often raising their blue tails at them. Females lay up to 700 eggs in only 35 seconds. Odonata Central, from whom most of this information is gleaned, maintains that Blue Dashers are largest in the spring, and get progressively smaller in the summer and fall. I thought, however, that this one seemed relatively small as it was.

Eastern Forktail

I agree with Scott King, who once mentioned that Eastern Forktails, were they not so common, would be a highly sought after damselfly. Sort of the Blue Jay (actually a quite handsome bird) of the dragonfly world. Males have bright emerald bodies and azure-tipped tails. Most adult females are a lovely shade of blue. Immature females sport a bright cinnamon color. I took these photos on 2 June 2017 in the Dakota County Lebanon Hills Regional Park.

Red-eyed Vireo

The Red-eyed Vireo’s persistent, clear whistle is often heard in North American forests. The song seems to ask a short question and then give a short answer. A folk name is Preacher Bird. One observer commented, “I have always thought that whoever dubbed this vireo the ‘preacher' could have had no very exalted opinion of the clergy” (Bradford Torrey in Bent 1950).

The word vireo comes from the Latin “greenfinch.” Most vireos are greenish birds (Gruson 1972). Whatever the name, this photo clearly shows this vireo’s red eye. Erika and I found this bird in Carleton College’s arboretum in May 2017. This species breeds across much of Canada and the United States. They winter east of the Andes in the Amazon jungle. When migrating, this bird orients to the earth’s magnetic field (Cimprich et al. 2000).

Eastern Pondhawk

Eastern Pondhawks are abundant across much of eastern North America. This one is from Erika’s garden yesterday. I think this is a young pondhawk. Adult males will become all blue. The tail is just changing—a rather regal image in my opinion. Pondhawks are fierce predators. Several have been zipping around the garden this spring.

American Redstart

American Redstarts are abundant in many eastern and northwestern forests. I had high hopes of catching this warbler’s “flash pattern” as it hopped through the forest sunlight and shadows. Wouldn’t you know that this individual appears to be missing his central tail feathers? During the flash pattern, the redstart fans his tail and droops his wings. This behavior attracts mates and warns competitors. The action may also flush its small insect prey from nearby vegetation (Sherry et al. 2016).

Hagen’s Bluet

Hagen’s Bluets are among a suite of damselflies that are difficult to identify—unless you are an expert in a lab with a microscope. Yet these creatures are pretty and I find myself taking photos even though the prospects for naming them are slim. I shared this photo, taken on 16 June 2017 at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Carver County, with my dragonfly guru, Scott King. To my surprise, he replied that this damselfly is a Hagen’s Bluet. Scott wrote, “the upper appendages slope downward, giving it a kind of wedge shape.” (The appendages are the structures at the very end of the abdomen.) You can enlarge this photo and almost see this trait.

Hagen’s Bluets are common near ponds and lakes across much of northern North America. They are named after Hermann August Hagen, a 19th century German entomologist. In 1867 he became curator of Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, where he enjoyed the title of Professor of Entomology.

Ebony Jewelwing

On 8 June 2017 I was checking my bird net when I kicked up a male Ebony Jewelwing. (Females have white spotted wing tips.) These damselflies are often abundant along area rivers and streams. I ran into the house to fetch my camera. By my reckoning, this individual is the 18th species of Odonata we have photographed in Erika’s garden.

Wood Frog

Of the Wood Frog, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources writes, “Who is that masked frog?” The frog’s color ranges from brown to black or reddish-brown. I found this individual in our water feature on 3 June 2017. My first reaction was, “Whoa, that isn’t a Leopard Frog!”

Wood Frogs breed in the spring, often even before the snow melts. This frog is remarkably adapted to life in the Northwoods. They overwinter in leaf litter. They tolerate partial freezing of their body fluids. In the winter, according to the DNR, they stop breathing and their hearts stop beating. They produce antifreeze to keep their cells from freezing. As a result, this is the only frog found north of the Arctic Circle. Their range slides southeast from Alaska and most of Canada to northern Idaho, central Minnesota, and much of the northeastern United States.

Pale Beauty

Despite the heat and wind of 10 June in Northfield, Erika and I took a short walk in the St. Olaf College campus. We came upon this relatively large, white moth. Googling “large white month MN” quickly led to the moth’s identity: Campaea perlata—Pale Beauty.

This moth is very common across northern North America. Adults are usually nocturnal. Perhaps this individual was blown by the wind from a perch. Their larvae consume a variety of trees and shrubs.

Canada Goose and Mallard Chicks

The local waterfowl have fledged their young. These photos, of a Canada Goose and Mallards, were taken on 8 June 2017 on local Northfield ponds.