Red, White, and Blue

I was looking through recent photos for some red, white, and blue wildlife. Above: Reflections that take on a red, white, and blue tone if you look carefully.



Above: This bizarre-looking flower is called Old Man's Whiskers or Prairie Smoke (in Latin it is Geum triflorum Pursh var. triflorum). Certainly not native to this area, I brought back a few seeds from Montana earlier this year and my specimen seems to be doing well in a pot. I had to look her up to find out her family and was surprised to find that she is in the Rose family (Rosaceae).



Above: This rather elusive butterfly is really reddish (body), white (trim), and blue (spots). Its called a Mourning Cloak (or Nymphalis antiopa). If you weren't looking for it you'd likely miss it as it measures probably something like 2 inches (60 mm) across. It is special when viewed in this telephoto shot. Mourning Cloak is usually found in the woods. . . or on the edges of woods and lays its eggs on willow species or in our case on berry bushes. This is the state butterfly of Montana. . . but I didn't see any there. It ranges across the North American continent. . . but you have to look very closely to see it.



Above: I believe this tiny bug to be one of the 17 species of sphinx moths that live in North America. The genus is Hemaris. It is often mis-identified as the hummingbird hawk moth which is endemic to Eurasia (but not North America). In North America moths of the Hemaris genus are collectively referred to as Clearwing Moths or Hummingbird Moths. This specimen was probably not even 1.5" across (43-50 mm). Easy to overlook.



Above: A bumble bee on a bright purple blossom that I cannot identify. Probably something in the Campanula Genus (bell flowers). . . again. . . a species not native to Florida that I find unfamiliar. Sometimes when I'm walking with telephoto lens in hand I snap a photo and later think. . . "what was that plant? I never saw it before. . ." likely something bought at a mega-store garden center that is not native to Florida. The bumble bee doesn't seem to mind where the plant came from, does he?



Above: These colorful little guys I'm very familiar with. . . anole lizards or Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis). We have had a lot of these little guys in the house lately. I always try to save their lives but am often unsuccessful. The house cats love nothing better than trapping, torturing and killing lizards.

The brightly colored throat of the anole is referred to as a 'dewlap,' and is generally displayed along with an up-and-down 'dance' to attract females of the species for mating.

I have found the anole eggs everywhere. They seem to really prefer light fixtures. . . the eggs resemble little bird eggs. Most of the invasive brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) fell victim to our two successive cold winters. . . so the greenies are making a comeback. I can't tell if the one above is a green or brown anole as he was stressed by the camera so close. . . and, alas, green anoles turn brown when stressed.