This is a popular locale for fishing and insect watching. Lots of dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies, and various other insects. It’s also the spot where I made the Tall Meadow Rue image last week.
This first image was a pleasant surprise Sunday morning as there is no sign of one here in our yard.
There is plenty of swamp milkweed along the edges of the road and this plump little monarch-Danaus plexippus caterpillar seemed to be having a snooze in the cool morning air.
A little farther down the road this dragonfly, the ID of which eludes me although I am fairly sure it is a meadowhawk, was perched among these fine grasses. Shortly after this I got one of it atop a sedge but liked the busier composition here.
And a curiosity found on this and several other buttonbush-Cephalanthus occidentali plants are buttonbush gall-mites-Aceria cephalanthi.
I searched on BugGuide.Net but only found other pictures of the galls, none of the actual mites. In case you are wondering, here is a healthy and fully mature buttonbush flower from the archives..
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
Nice pictures, all of them. What else would we expect?
I’ve seen my share of galls like those on poison ivy down here. Bugguide suggests it’s a different critter, Aculops rhois, the poison ivy leaf gall mite.
I noticed last week that our buttonbushes are blooming, too. I enjoy the fragrance of the “buttons”.
LikeLike
Yes, poison ivy leaf gall mite is different and what iNaturalist IDed this as. I eventually found the BG.N citations for buttonbush gall mites. The author is a Facebook friend locally and confirmed it for me.
LikeLike
Wonderful! I like the variety…and am very happy to see a monarch caterpillar. The dragonfly on that “busy” background is very nice, like a quietly intricate tapestry. The gall – you manage to make it beautiful. I thought I remembered Buttonbush from a spot near the water on Staten Island, and a google search shows it grows there, so that must be right. So thanks for reminding me of this interesting plant, too!.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Buttonbush is a very interesting plants, for the flower mostly,and now for the galls. The reminded me of another gall, https://sggphoto.wordpress.com/2015/01/24/01-24-2014-wool-sower/ that I have seen a few times. It’s a wasp gall but has a similar appearance.
I like the tapestry description of that dragonfly image.
LikeLike
Thanks, that one is really crazy! 🙂 I found a weird wasp gall this spring – I found out it was something called a Cynipid wasp ( more than one possible species I guess). It was red and round with spikes. https://bugguide.net/node/view/696878
LikeLiked by 1 person
That would be a great one to find. One of these days, maybe. BugGuide does show them as reported in Massachusetts.We don’t have any roses though. Wonder if galls are a god reason to grow roses? 🙂
LikeLike
The dragonfly has captured my heart. Its wings are things of utter beauty.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So happy to find your comment here Tanja, about the dragonfly with its beautiful wings. Amazing photo of a splendid creature!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Liz. I am glad you share my admiration for this divine dragonfly.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Liz.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am glad that the image makes you happy, Tanja.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
The dragonfly image is stunning Steve and if you’d permit me to share it on my blog with credit and link-back to you, I’d be pleased to feature it. If you’re ok about it let me know.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Of course, Liz. Thank you for asking! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: The Whole World isn’t in Winter – Exploring Colour
Found you via Liz blog – I think I will stay here!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for following the link and subscribing, Leya. Much appreciated.
LikeLike
♥
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the way you’ve caught the effect of the light on the dragonfly’s wings – truly beautiful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The wings look quite nice on the isolated image but I really liked the translucent quality in this capture. Thanks, Ann.
BTW, and I do imagine that Mackay is not an uncommon name, but I have a friend, Steve Mackay, whom I have lost track of in his absence from Facebook. Are you familiar with him? He’s an awesomely good photographer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m afraid I don’t know a Steve Mackay – it is quite a common surname, especially in Scotland. I wonder if you have any chance of finding him with Google? Sometimes having a few details can make a huge difference to a search…
LikeLike
You encouraged me to search and I found his website. I’ll contact him. Thanks, Ann.
https://www.stevemackayphotography.com/?fbclid=IwAR3IJegyuPo7peZ7bPTJ8tLnQhPIlvHFbU-zf0DQuqIrAbEJzLmcmnkP-Ho
LikeLiked by 1 person
And I wondered about that…I’ve seen a few nature photographs by a Steve Mackay – he’s on Instagram: stevemackay1 (I could put a link to his page but the comment might then go in your spam!) I wonder if that’s the same person?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am not on Instagram so I don’t know. I recognize some of the shots on the website as his. As far as you posting a link, I think it is held for moderation until I approve it although a lot of stuff goes into the spam box too. I usually review it before sending them to the trash.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s him, Steve – we are talking about the same photographer. I came across his work a little while ago when I was reading up on macro photography. (He’s on 500px too.) His photography is amazing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, Steve is an excellent photographer and a very nice guy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely captures Steve. That caterpillar is a real looker. The dragonfly a real stunner!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Pete. I knew to expect a dragonfly or two, but the monarch caterpillar was a pleasant surprise. You may know that the monarch butterflies are in somewhat of a peril here lately so any time I find one is a thrill for the day. I was excited too by the transparency of those wings.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t quite decide about the dragonfly’s wings; do they show some color apart from the background, or is that Tiffany-like effect a result of seeing the grasses through the wings? Even if that’s so, it looks as though the venation is a little different from what I see around here. The effect is lovely, and I don’t think the image is cluttered, at all. It’s funny how some photos that have so many details work, and others don’t.
I found my first buttonbush last month, and was tickled to death. I’ve seen it in a couple of nurseries, but that hardly counts. Mine was at the edge of that small pond where the water lilies live. It had its feet in the water, and so did I by the time it all was over.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Most of the color is from the grass flowers but there is also some blue reflecting from the sky. At first I was happy about my later images of the dragonfly for their cleanliness when it perched atop a nearby sedge. But when reviewing in Lightroom I recognized this background’s importance and concentrated on the one I have posted. I am sure I have mentioned it before to Steve and possibly you have seen the comment about one of my favorite photography books “Nature’s Chaos” by Eliot Porter and James Gleick. There are many others now embracing the chaos in landscape but his images remain an inspiration.
Certain plants make getting our feet wet well worth a day’s sogginess. We just had a bridge replaced in town that I usually access for trips to our rail trail and the wet meadow where I see orchids. I have just learned about a lot of buttonbush there as well that somehow I hadn’t noticed before. If I brave the heat this weekend I think I’ll pay them a visit. Such a cool flower.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: 08.13.2019 Well, it ain’t exactly Texas | Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog