Since my favorite colors are orange, brown, and green, it’s no wonder I love Autumn. The only downside is that my beloved dragonflies take a siesta (or a dirt nap) until the Spring. Goodbye, Insectae.
There are a few hardy specimens that hang around longer than most others. While the rest of the odonates have migrated or joined the Choir Celestial, the Yellow-legged Meadowhawk (S. vicinum) hangs around until late October, sometimes as late as early November.
Many Meadowhawks require identification in the lab, since their taxonomy is subtle. In this case, there is nothing subtle about a Yellow-legged. They’re yellow, and they’re long, the odonate equivalent of a first baseman’s mitt. This is a hunter. They have to be, living this late this far north, where the pickings are slim, most insects succumbing to a few hard frosts by now.
Just a few feet from this hardy specimen was a less expected but also hardy specimen…a Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice). They also live late in the season, somehow dodging the cold until November.
The cornflowers are wilted and dead just a week later, but this little butterfly was busy sucking down nectar like a frat boy guzzling PBRs. I was inches from him, using a macro lens, and he was undeterred by the giant lens and the clacking of the shutter.
I like Meadowhawks and Sulphurs. They are by no means the largest of their respective orders; in fact, they’re on the smaller side. Unlike the larger Aeshnidae or Ornithopterae, these little dudes just get it done, and they’re good at it. I guess I’d like to be like the Meadowhawks or Sulphurs rather than Darners or Birdwings. I don’t want fancy. I just want to be good at what I do.
In world where flashy gets the attention, you’d do well to remember that the shiny things only flash for a moment and emit no light of their own. The source of light they reflect is what’s real.
Respectfully submitted,
Canoelover
P.S. Coming soon on canoelover.com: “you have how many canoe paddles?”