Venus Transit- Failed!

 
I tried.



I used one side of a pair of binoculars. I aimed it at the sun. I managed to get the sun "spot" to show on the house wall. See it there above the shadow of the binoculars? Hey! Is that a little dark spot in the upper left corner of the sun circle?



Why yes, it is! But it's not the shadow of Venus. The spot is still there even without the sun image. Drat. Dirt Spot Transit- Success! Guess I'll just have to live another 105 years.

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Hesperiidae - only 3500 to Choose From

 
OK, I have a cute little butterfly. Rainfield was just talking to one of his cousins at Funnier Than Me. Not a big surprise. This is a skipper, family Hesperiidae, with over 3500 species worldwide. Fortunately (for me) most of them are in the tropics.



My newest butterfly book (thanks, Elaine!) shows 83 species in Eastern North America. Better yet, only 24 of those are likely to be in Michigan. That narrows it down to either the Zebulon or Hobomok Skipper.



It looks slightly more like the Hobomok Skipper, and the flight period is a better match- late spring to early summer.



Well, he thinks the hoary vetch tastes yummy. I'm just happy to get a good picture. The name "skipper" comes from their rapid, nervous flight pattern. If you looked at rainfield's picture, you instantly got the idea that they have really big eyes. So, at least you can easily ID most any skipper, that far. They are about an inch or maybe a little more across!

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Mrs. Ebony Jewelwing

 
Remember last week I showed you the male ebony jewelwing damselfly?



Well, it's not a super good picture, but I got one of the female Calopteryx maculata.



At least you can clearly see the white spots on her wings. And note the "maculata" in the name? That means spotted, so that makes the scientific name sensible. Her body is plain black.

This is one of the really common damselflies. I wonder if I can get pictures of some of the little nervous ones next! At least with wildlife pictures one never runs out of possibilities.

	See Ebony Jewelwing
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National Trails Day 2012

 
Today the Spirit of the Woods Chapter of the NCTA put on a Trails Day event in Ludington. It was miserably cold, and not very many people came. Sigh.

We brought in Jim McGrath of Nature Discovery, and he brought five kinds of turtles, two kinds of frogs and several moth cocoons. He also had a live Prometheus female moth, which he is hoping will attract a mate this week. Jim is on the left, with his wife, Carol, talking with two of our members.



Despite the poor turnout, the visitors we did have were enthused.



We were set up for a number of crafts for kids, and the children who did come really enjoyed making a variety of simple things.



One of the most fun parts was giving the box turtles a chance to have their daily exercise. I think if there had been a few more maple keys on the asphalt they would have been nearly invisible. (No, we were not walking them in a road.)



I came home and just vegged out for the evening. These events are a ton of work, and I didn't even do most of that work this year. It's so discouraging to do everything right, and have very few people come. So, this is about the quality of the day, not the bummer part. We had a couple people come who say they want to hike with us sometimes, and I had a great time with Jim McGrath, and learned quite a few new details about reptiles and amphibians. Because of the low turnout, we had lots more time to actually talk with him than when he's had to do full programs.

	See National Trails Day 2011
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Candles in the Trees

 
Regular readers may remember that I'm not a fan of Scotch Pine. I just think they look coarse and stupid until they get to be several decades old (at which time they learn how to dance).

But, at this time of year, they become perfect Christmas tree with natural candles for decorations.



Huh? Don't worry, they aren't about to burst into flame. This is just the new growth for the year just before the needles lengthen and darken!



The dancing? See Choirs of Trees

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