Skipping

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I have posted a photo of this species recently. Do you recognize it?

If you said [Silver-spotted Skipper]((https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epargyreus_clarus), you are right. There are 3500 species of skippers .. this is mindblowing. Nature is so diverse. Check out this from the Wikipedia Entry for Skipper butterflies.

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If you are interested in learning more about identifying skippers, check out greennature.com. Enjoy!!

~ Rick


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©2019 ©2020 Rick Cartwright

Eastern-Tailed Blue

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I had to get some help with this one. I thought it may be a Short-tailed Blue, but they are not native to this part of the world. I contacted a naturalist at the Miami County Parks District and learned that is is actually a Eastern Tailed-blue. This one is a female. Here is a interesting fact from Wikipedia:

Eastern tailed-blues feed on various legumes and are known to secrete a substance which is favored by some ant species. The ant in turn protects the larva of the butterfly from other predators.

Very cool!!

(A special acknowledgment and thank you to Amalee at Miami County Parks District for her help identifying this beautiful butterfly)


Rick’s latest technology muse:

Check out our vlog, which includes more pictures and video on YouTube at tales.photos. Remember to subscribe!

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©2019 ©2020 Rick Cartwright

A New Friend

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Let’s start from the beginning. We were hiking and taking photos at the Sillwater Prairie Reserve. Actually we love to hike at the Rangeline Road Entrance. I have mentioned this before, but once you hike through the wooded areas, you come to the open prairie. The hike includes this section of boardwalk that loops at the far end of the trail. This all occurred on that boardwalk.

While hiking there, we ran into this young lady and young man that were also hiking the trail. I believe they were brother and sister. We also passed their parents (my guess), as they were running the trail. Actually, they passed us.

We noticed that the young pair stopped and seemed very interested in something on the trail. As it turns out, a Hackberry Emperor Butterfly took an interest in the boy. It was on his back, then his arm, then back to his shirt .. it was all over him. We have seen this behavior before. They are attracted to our sweat .. I guess for the mositure it provides them. As they continued their walk, the butterfly went along with them.

At some point they left and then the butterfly decide it liked the bald spot on the top of my head. From their he moved to Teresa and then back to my arms and hands. I tried to photograph it when it was on Teresa, but he was more interested in my keto sweat. Teresa captured a ‘live’ photo on her iPhone. That features captures several images and I made it into this loop, then used an iOS Shortcut to convert it into an antimated GIF. That is what I am sharing here. If you want to know the details of how to do that, just contact me.

~ Rick

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Rick’s latest technology muse:

Check out our vlog, which includes more pictures and video on YouTube at tales.photos. Remember to subscribe!

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. Contact Rick for more information.

©2019 ©2020 Rick Cartwright

Fly Away …

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I had to share this series of photos. I saw this female Black Swallowtail Butterfly while we were hiking earlier this week. The male is much darker and maybe where the ‘black’ in the name comes from.

Back to the story: While I was photographing her, I saw this carpenter bee on the coneflower next door. He slowly worked his way to the top. As he crested the top of the cone and in an instant, she flew away. I was trying to capture a photo of both of them on the top of there respective flowers but she was having none of it. It almost appears that the bee was happy about ‘chasing’ her away. He even walked out to the end of the flower in her direction as she took off. It was funny. See the photos below ...

~ Rick

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Rick’s latest technology muse:

Check out our vlog, which includes more pictures and video on YouTube at tales.photos. Remember to subscribe!

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. Contact Rick for more information.

©2019 ©2020 Rick Cartwright

Natures Raw Beauty

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Some sights in nature just need to be seen. I can’t explain the beauty but this photo is an attempt to capture nature and share it.. Stunning, raw and and so cool.

A side note: I received an email with a link to this article about How to Grow and Care for Butterfly Weed. This is not a sponsored link. I’m just sharing for those that want more butterflies in their garden.

~ Rick


Rick’s latest technology muse:

Check out our vlog, which includes more pictures and video on YouTube at tales.photos. Remember to subscribe!

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. Contact Rick for more information.

©2019 ©2020 Rick Cartwright