I was delighted to spot this Common Wood Nymph butterfly (Cercyonis pegala) during a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I love the distinctive yellow patches on its wings that make it pretty easy to identify.
Common Wood Nymphs usually like to hang around near the edges of the woods rather than in the fields that many butterflies seem to prefer and consequently I do not see this cool-looking butterfly very often.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Beautiful photo, Mike.
lovely! When I walk our beagle in the afternoon heat our pond has the dragonflies with white wings and white bodies, black trip. They zoom so fast I have not gotten a photo. And I don’t want to be out one minute longer than necesssry!
I’m happy to hear that you manage to spot some dragonflies during your walks with your dog–it sounds like they might be Common Whitetail dragonflies. I suspect that your dog also does not enjoy the intense hear either.