On the wings of summer

While birds and flowers are my first loves when it comes to nature observation, over the last year I have added butterflies, moths and dragonflies to an ever-growing list of subjects that pique my interest. While I have not yet spent much time learning about the intricacies of these creatures, and still have a long way to go in my identification skills, their beauty does not fail to impress me. Here are some interesting finds I made in early August of this year. (If anyone finds fault with my IDs, please let me know!)


Little Wood Satyr


Zabulon Skipper (male)






Clouded (?) Sulphur

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth, the star of the show that day. This moth happily nectared on this large patch of Bee Balm for a long time.








While perusing the Butterflies and Moths of North America website, I noticed that they showed no record of the Hummingbird Clearwing for Athens County, so I submitted a couple of photos to the regional coordinator for consideration. I just love citizen science! Earlier this year I put Athens County on the map with my record of the Polyphemus Moth. If you are at least mildly interested in butterflies or moths, you really should check this site out.