Friday I went to Kids Conservation Day to present on insects.  My student assistant couldn't make it at the last minute, so I had to go it alone.  I took the motorcycle up to Warsaw, and it was a glorious ride there and back.  The weather was great this year—the last couple of times we had to go to the fairgrounds in Carthage to get out of the rain.  Giving the same presentation eight times can be exhausting, but I still felt pretty good afterward, and took a hike through the prairie.   I got mostly images of insects and flowers...and a sunburn.

From Spring 2011

Stinkbug with spotted legs.

From Spring 2011

Jumping spider

From Spring 2011

Buttercup

From Spring 2011

Big weevil

From Spring 2011

Carpenter bee

From Spring 2011

Eastern tailed blue, a lycaenid butterfly

From Spring 2011

I never get tired of tiger beetles!

From Spring 2011

Wild strawberries

I was walking along the trail, glanced to the right, and my eye picked out a form among the garlic mustard plants.

From Spring 2011

I hadn't even seen a luna moth in years.  Finding a perfect specimen in a natural location while being armed with a camera was the greatest fortune.  I bent the plant over to get it into the light.  It never flew away or even budged.

From Spring 2011

I hear rumors that this species is endangered, but i don't believe them.  I thing the moths are just seldom seen.