Volo Bog - 9.04.10 - Post 4

Continuing on with Volo Bog...

Goldenrod Dragon

Goldenrod is pretty much everywhere in Northern Illinois wildlife areas.  This particular branch caught my eye, because it looks very much like a dragon to me.  I am the sort of person who likes to anthropomorphize this sort of thing, sure, but this just looked cool to me.

Still Blooming - Better Late Than Never

New flower!  Great Blue Lobelia.  The sharp folds and points in the flower petals make them stand out.

'Phyll-less Flower

I was sure these were mushrooms or some other sort of fungus when I found them, but while looking up something else entirely, I discovered that they are, in fact, a plant - the Indian Pipe.  Very weirdly for a plant, this plant obviously has no chlorophyll (the stuff that makes plants green); instead it gets its energy from being a parasite of the trees it grows under.  It's also called the Ghost Plant or Corpse Plant.  Creepy, eh?

Turning Red for the Winter

I'm pretty sure these are Winterberries, ripening from their initial pink into the bright red that will stay with them through the winter.

Two Sacks of Gold

Another bee on yet another flower.  But I like this one because you can see the pollen sacks on both legs in this case.  And he's still busily gathering.  I also really like how clearly you can see the joints in that front right leg.

Stripes on the Eastern Tailed Blue

I really hate that it was so windy the day I went up there.    This shot would have been so much better if the grass hadn't been getting blown to Kingdom Come.  Of course, if this Eastern Tail wasn't worried about getting blown into the next zip code, he might not have sat still at all.  It's not a great shot, but you can see the stripes on his antennae and on his legs.

White Face, Red Body, Green Weeds

Another White-Faced Meadowhhawk, with his White Face being very obvious. :)

Hairy Skipper

I was just inches away from this Fiery Skipper.  What a hairy little butterfly!

Wild Swan, All Bogged Down

Now this was one of the coolest things about being on the observation deck I was talking about in the last post.  I never did see the swans from the ground (there were two, but one was in and out of the rushes so much I never did catch him.)  If you look at the prairie grasses in the back, you can see how windy it was as I was shooting.  But hey, wild swans in Illinois!  I had no idea we had wild swans.

Spotted Jewelweed Hanging Out

This is a Jewelweed flower - Specifically, the Spotted Jewelweed.  Also called a Touch-Me-Not because the seed pods (not pictured) tend to explode when touched - not because it's hazardous for you to touch them.  In fact these plants are used as a common cure for the itch of poison ivy and other skin irritations.





Okay, one more card of pictures to go through for this trip. :)