Susan and I returned to Goethe State Forest yesterday, once it armed up around 1pm. We wanted to walk more of the road looking for insects. As a result I saw more Zebra and Pipevine Swallowtails in a day than in my entire life.
The day started with a Carolina Mantis egg case where we parked the car. Then we were off looking for butterflies.
This is probably the best photo that I got of a Zebra Swallowtail.
We also had a bunch of Little Wood Satyrs which was nice.
Here’s the reason for all of the butterflies. The Purple Thistle (Cirsium horridulum) can become quite a large beast. The one on the right was close to five feet tall and the main stems were over an inch across.
More tomorrow as we start wandering west across the panhandle.
Michael's Place 