Insects of Alberta 1

There were several of these tiny Pearl Crescent butterflies at Shannon Terrace a week ago.

There are a number of tiny butterflies here and I am never sure exactly what kind I am looking at. So, I am safer to attempt no ID!

Saw this butterfly when I drove out to Elbow Falls Trail yesterday afternoon. There are a lot of this kind of butterfly in the city at the moment.

Noticed that this pair of Ladybugs is a Two-spotted pair. I took a closer photo of another Ladybug on these plants and it was just a regular Seven-spotted Ladybug. They are on a wild plant called Wormwood.

At the end of my walk this morning, I came across this green moth flattened out on the washroom door at the entrance of the park. I'm not sure, but I think this might be a Pale Beauty or some other kind of geometer. They are also called "inchworm moths" because it is their caterpillars that do the familiar inching along when they travel. There are at least 250 species of geometers in Alberta, but only a few are pale green. "Many Geometrids have slender abdomens and broad wings which are usually held flat with the hindwings visible. As such they appear rather butterfly-like but in most respects they are typical moths: the majority fly at night, they possess a frenulum to link the wings and the antennae of the males are often feathered. They tend to blend in to the background, often with intricate, wavy patterns on their wings. Most are of moderate size, about 3 cm across but a range of sizes occur." From Wikipedia website.

This Fritillary was a very nice "fresh" one, seen at Griffith Woods on Sunday morning. Some butterflies have so much of their wings missing, that it's a wonder that they can still fly!

Seen at Bebo Grove on a recent walk. The European Skipper was accidentally introduced from Europe to eastern Canada and then it spread westwards from there. All of their caterpillars feed on grasses. A Skipper is just a particular sort of butterfly with big eyes and a thick body. There are 27 species of Skippers in Alberta, so I am hoping I have the identity correct.

We saw a few of these bright red and black beetles at the Erlton/Roxborough Natural Area this morning. Not sure if it is a red Turnip Beetle. An amazing area for wildflowers!

On our walk at the Erlton/Roxborough Natural Area (near downtown) yesterday morning, we saw so many dragonflies. Every once in a while, one would land and remain motionless for a short time.