An Arctic skipper and a Dreamy duskywing, two of todays insect finds. We went to Natalie Lake, near Newberry in Luce County searching for some special birds that nest there. We found them – Golden-winged Warbler, Mourning Warbler and Black Tern. But we are always expecting to find a diversity in insects.
Two damselflies. The left one is in the genus Enallagma, the right on in the genus Ischnura. Both will take some work to identify down to species.
Ladona julia, chalk-fronted corporals were abundant. The male is on the left, the female on the right. Along with the damselflies, these were abundant.
Epitheca canis, another spring dragonfly. This species was far less common than others that we saw today.
An American emerald, Cordulia shurtleffi. This was the only one that we spotted today.
Libellula quadramaculata, Four-spotted skimmers seem to be out where ever there are nearby bodies of water, but in small numbers.
A Narrow-headed marsh fly, Helophilus fasciatus, assuming that I have identified this little guy correctly. It was perching on emergent vegetation in the shallow water at the edge of the Dollarville Flooding, which was full of Mink frogs.
After our day at Natalie Lake we stopped in Newberry for a treat before we headed home.
More tomorrow…
Michael's Place 
Illinois hasn’t had any recordings of Arctic skipper. Looks like a splendid skipper with neat markings. Dusky wings are difficult for me to ID. I get Wild Indigo Dusky Wing at my site and it took me a while before felt confident to stop reporting it as Unknown. What characteristics did you see to call it a Dreamy Dusky Wing? Enjoy your posts!
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Hi Su – We are too far north for Wild Indigo Duskywing. I’ll have to look at the key characters again, funny how from day to day I forget things. Arctic Skippers are sweet little butterflies. Hope all is well with you.
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