Camera Critters #177

A couple of Camera Critters ago, I showed y’all a Dotted Blue butterfly.  It has markings similar to a variety of small blue Lepidoptera found in my area.  In case you have forgotten, here is the Dotted Blue again.

I always try to photograph these little leps whenever I can.

Several weeks ago, I was going through some of my photos and noticed one I had forgotten about (I take a lot of photos and have a limited memory  8v).  I looked at the image and my first thought was, "I did image a Dotted Blue before.”

Then I looked closer at the butterfly and saw the outer fringes of the wings are not dark in any part of the fringes.  I also noticed the dominate outline of the wings.  I had read before about a blue butterfly in the west which has evenly colored fringes.  It’s a Rita’s Blue.

However, a Rita’s Blue is not found in this area.  I’ve checked a number of different blue butterflies, and find nothing to match, except the Dotted Blue.  That means I did photograph one before the one above.  See for yourself and if you know a definitive identity of it, let me know.

 

Misty Dawn’s Camera Critter Meme is a great way see critters the world over. Go to the homepage here to see more. Then join the fun and add your own.

Camera Critter #176

These days, I often hear Cicadas on television shows and even heard them in the background when I was talking to my mom a while back.

But this year, one place I haven’t heard them (so far) is around here.  Last year, I heard a few, and even got a photo of one.

But this year, the homestead has been rather Cicada quiet on the home front.

Misty Dawn’s Camera Critter Meme is a great way see critters the world over. Go to the homepage here to see more. Then join the fun and add your own.

Camera Critters #175

I have travelled to an area near here a number of times to see what new critters are there.  Generally, I see what I saw on my first trip to Lower Bridge.

However a trip Wednesday produced two new butterflies for the area…and a new lifer butterfly for me.

The first is a Lorquin's Admiral.  I have come across this butterfly in different areas, mainly up in the mountains.  It was a nice treat to find one in the Deschutes River canyon area.

Yes…that is my finger.  I was attempting to get the butterfly to climb aboard, and just as I got close enough, I began to slip on the loose gravel I was standing on.  The quick movement of me attempting to regain balance caused the admiral to fly off.

Not long after I came across the admiral, I noticed a small blue butterfly quickly flitting about.  I tried to follow it to get a shot, but lost sight of it.  So I went back to the admiral.  After getting a number of new shots of the admiral, I began to walk the trail.

Whenever I walk the wilds here, I am constantly scanning my surroundings, looking for good subjects.  As I scanned to my left, something just didn’t look right, so I walked over to investigate.

There he was…the blue butterfly I was chasing before.  I lifted my camera and began shooting as I approached the plant it was on.  I got a couple of shots off before the blue butterfly took flight.

When I got home, I checked the images, I realized I got me a new Lepidoptera.  Called a Dotted Blue, there are five different subspecies of this critter.  This one might be the subspecies enoptes, but it could also be columbiae, which is more common in my area.  However, I couldn’t find a photo of that subspecies to verify.

Misty Dawn’s Camera Critter Meme is a great way see critters the world over. Go to the homepage here to see more. Then join the fun and add your own.

Camera Critters #174

A couple of years ago, I spotted a beetle rapidly moving around sage in the Dry Canyon here.  My attempts to photograph it didn’t work out.

In October of 2008, I noticed a similar bug, again in the Dry Canyon.  However, this time it didn’t escape my camera.

After several years of here and there checking on its ID, I believe it is an Hippodamia apicalis.  The speedy little critter is a member of the Lady Beetle family.

Misty Dawn’s Camera Critter Meme is a great way see critters the world over. Go to the homepage here to see more. Then join the fun and add your own.