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Archive for September, 2025

Still active

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 30, 2025| 2 Comments »

It was wonderful to see so many butterflies still active last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, including this spectacular Common Buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia). This butterfly was so feverishly feeding on these flowers that it scarcely seemed aware of my presence, which made it possible to capture shots of this magical creature from various angles. The challenge for me was to time those shots to capture the spectacular colors and patterns of the butterfly when its wings were fully opened.

Common Buckeye

Common Buckeye

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Autumn bluet

Posted in Autumn, damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 26, 2025| 2 Comments »

Many of the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge are now littered with fallen leaves as we move deeper into autumn. In my area the colors are not as bright and intense as in New England, where I grew up, but the muted colors here are a sign nonetheless that the seasons are changing.

Every year I try to get shots of dragonflies and damselflies perched on the colorful foliage. It is tough, though, to get these beautiful little creatures to cooperate, even though I try to communicate my desires to them telepathically. I doubt it was because of my weak attempts at communication, but on Monday a Big Bluet damselfly (Enallagma durum) perched momentarily on one of the brown, crunchy leaves on the ground and I managed to capture this shot.

I really like the way that the bright blue of the damselfly make it really “pop” in an environment of mostly muted colors. In a simple, uncomplicated way, this modest photo is a symbol to me of the arrival of autumn. For the record, there is no damselflies species called “Autumn bluet,” but I thought the title was a little more punchy as “Autumn bluet,” rather than “Bluet in autumn.” I apologize if I caused anyone to search frantically in their identification guides for a new species.

Big Bluet

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Black Saddlebags dragonfly

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 24, 2025| 4 Comments »

I spotted this Black Saddlebags dragonfly (Tramea lacerata) on Monday (22 September) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Normally I see members of this species flying overhead, but this one cooperated by perching low in the vegetation. Black Saddlebags dragonflies, as you can see in the photo below, have distinctive dark blotches on their rear wings that some scientist decided looked like saddlebags.

Black Saddlebags are among the few North American dragonfly species that undertake migrations—other migratory species include Wandering (and Spot-winged) Gliders and Common Green Darners. Specifically, the offspring of the Black Saddlebag dragonflies migrate south in the fall, while some return north in the spring to breed. Did this one begin its journey at some location in the north and was stopping in as it heads south? It is hard to know for sure, but that is certainly a possibility. 

One thing I do know for sure is that Black Saddlebags spend a lot of their time in the air, patrolling back and forth over an area, so it was nice to have a chance to capture a shot of one on the ground. Unlike some other skimmer species, Black Saddlebags do not like to perch high up in the vegetation, so it is a challenge to find an unobstructed shooting angle when they are nestled low in the vegetation close to the ground.

Black Saddlebags

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Fine-lined Emerald dragonflies

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 22, 2025| 4 Comments »

I was thrilled last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge to  capture some images of Fine-lined Emerald dragonflies (Somatochlora filosa), a species for which I have been searching repeatedly this past month. Fine-lined Emeralds are one of several species that appear in the autumn, just as the number of most species of dragonflies is beginning to drop precipitously. I had spotted what I think were Fine-lined Emeralds several times earlier in September, but for me the sighting does not really “count” if I am not able to take a photograph.

Fine-lined Emeralds like to spend a lot of time patrolling, and a lesser amount of time perching. Unlike many of species that fly about high in the air, this species often flies at at somewhere between knee and eye-level, and that is how I usually first identify this species.

The dragonfly in the first photo appeared to be flying a patrol back-and-forth along a long stretch of one of the trails at the wildlife refuge. I stayed more or less in the same spot and over the course of a half hour or so, I watched and waited as the dragonfly zoomed by me. I was fortunate to track the dragonfly when it was flying and captured some shots when it occasionally perched vertically for a moment or two. The big challenge for me was focusing on the dragonfly’s thin body—my camera’s auto-focus had trouble acquiring focus, so I had to rely on manual focusing, which is a bit difficult with a digital camera.

Later in the day I spotted the dragonfly in the second photo, what appears to be a different male Fine-lined Emerald. It perched in the same, hanging from the vegetation in the same way as the earlier dragonfly. This dragonfly’s abdomen seemed to be a bit scuffed for reasons that were not readily apparent.

I encourage you to click on the photos to get a closer look at this elusive dragonfly species that the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website describes as, “One of Northern Virginia’s most rare dragonflies, possibly our rarest, this species is seldom seen and little known throughout its range, from New Jersey to Florida, and west to Kentucky and Texas.”

Fine-lined Emerald

Fine-lined Emerald

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Hover Fly in September

Posted in Autumn, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 20, 2025| 2 Comments »

When I first began taking photos of insects, I figured that every black and yellow insect flying around flowers was a bee. I was naive, of course, and over time I came to realize that there was another whole family of insects called hover flies (or flower flies or syrphids) that are bee mimics and nectar on flowers. Although their name may suggest that they feed while hovering, like hummingbirds, the hovering seems to be primarily a means for finding a food source.

Last week I spotted some hover flies during a visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge that were feeding on the wild flowers in bloom. I think that they may be American Hover Flies (Eupeodes americanus), but I confess that I am not really familiar with the different species of hover flies. According to Wikipedia about 6000 species of hover flies have been described in 200 genera and hover flies can be found on every continent in the world except for Antarctica.

I did not have a macro lens on my camera, so I was pleasantly surprised to capture such a detailed shot of the tiny hover fly. If you click on the image, you will get a closer view of some of those details of the hoverfly that was intently at work, as “busy as a bee.”

American Hover Fly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Mating damselflies

Posted in Autumn, damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 17, 2025| 3 Comments »

During my visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge last week I noted that some species of damselflies were still active, notably Big Bluet damselflies (Enallagma durum). Several couples were busily engaged in activities to ensure the perpetuation of their species.

The damselflies in the photo below were in the “tandem” position in which the male continues to clasp the head of the female. Often this position is assumed after the pair has mated and the male holds on while the female deposits the fertilized eggs. I think that may be what was going on when I captured the image, although it is possible that the pair was simply resting before flying to the actual spot where the eggs will be deposited.

Big Bluet

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Autumn Cross Stitch

Posted in Autumn, counted cross stitch, cross stitch, Inspiration, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , on September 16, 2025| 8 Comments »

During the last few months I have been cross stitching a lot, spending time that in previous years I might have spent in the wild with my camera. The hot, humid weather is one factor that has kept me indoors, but I have also rediscovered my love for counted cross stitch. I haven’t yet figured out how I will frame or otherwise finish these pieces, but I thought I would show you some of the autumn-themed ones that I have finished stitching.

The first one is from a pattern that appeared in the Halloween 2025 edition of Just Cross Stitch magazine. It is called Tiny Pumpkins and was designed by Sara Louise Greer of Wickham Cottage. In the past I really enjoyed stitching on black fabric and decided to give it a try again. My eyes are older and require more light than when I was young, but the project turned out pretty well.

The second piece also appeared in the Halloween 2025 edition of Just Cross Stitch magazine. It is called Hallows’ Eve Sampler and was designed by Tracy Richards of Wrought Iron Stitching. I love the vintage autumn vibe of this piece that the designer was able to achieve using only four colors.

The final two pieces were designed by TheCozyDH, a Canadian independent cross stitcher, designer, and content creator on You Tube and Twitch. They have an Etsy shop where you can purchase downloadable cross stitch patterns that are “a lil cute, a lil cozy, a lil spooky” and also a Ko-fi shop, which tends to have lower prices because the platform has lower fees than Etsy.

The two skeleton guys, known as the Bobs, are described by the designer as follows:  “Once there were two large skeleton brothers, separated by season and preference of caffeinated beverage. Now, in this tiny adorable form, the brothers are together again. Tiny Cozy Bob sips his Pumpkin Spice Latte while Tiny Sweaty Bob enjoys a chill boba milk tea.”

I suspect that in the coming months I will continue to balance my wildlife photography with my cross stitching. Two two hobbies allow me to express myself creatively in different ways.

Tiny Pumpkins

Hallows' Eve Sampler

Cozy Bob

Sweaty Bob

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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Cabbage White butterfly

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Flowers are slowing giving up their colors and fewer insects will flying as we move deeper into September. It lifts my spirits to see the survivors, like this Cabbage White butterfly (Pieris rapae) that I spotted during a a visit last week to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The Cabbage White, which gardeners consider to be a pest, may appear to be completely monochromatic, but if you double-click on the image, you can get a look at its beautiful speckled green eyes.

Cabbage White

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Little Skipper Butterfly

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Flowers, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 14, 2025| 5 Comments »

Skipper butterflies received their name because of their quick, darting flight habits. Many species look very much alike and I invariably have trouble identifying them.

Last week I spotted this little skipper butterfly as it was feeding on some wildflowers at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I was really happy to capture this image of the butterfly with its proboscis extended, sucking up the nectar from a flower. What species is it? If I had to guess, I’d say it might be a Fiery Skipper butterfly (Hylephila phyleus), but my eye is not as attuned to the subtle differences in skippers as it is to dragonflies, so this is really just a guess.

Even it I can’t identify the butterfly, I can enjoy and celebrate its beauty. I encourage you all to slow down and take in the beauties of nature whenever you can.

skipper butterfly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Russet-tipped Clubtail dragonfly

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Seasons are noticeably changing as summer releases its hold on us (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere). Children in my area have returned to school and the weather has cooled off quite a bit.

Many summer dragonfly species are starting to disappear or decrease in numbers. Fortunately, some new species appear late in the season to take their places, like this handsome Russet-tipped Clubtail dragonfly (Stylurus plagiatus) that I spotted on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Russet-tipped Clubtails are a late season species and are seen most often in August and September in my area. Unlike many of the dragonflies that I see regularly that seem to prefer pole-like perches or perch flat on the ground, Russet-tipped Clubtails like to hang from the leaves of vegetation at an angle or almost vertically—members of the genus Stylurus are sometimes called “Hanging Clubtails.”

I am not quite ready to welcome “autumn,” but there are signs everywhere that the seasons are inexorably changing. Autumn is probably my favorite season of the year, but I am still holding on to the remnants of summer—this year autumn begins on 22 September.

Russet-tipped Clubtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Uncommon Buckeye Butterfly

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 12, 2025| 14 Comments »

What does “common” mean to you? For many of us, the descriptor “common” is used for ordinary, everyday things to which we tend to pay little attention. Their purposes tend to be functional and utilitarian and beauty is often of secondary importance, assuming that it is considered at all.

I rebel against the use of “common” in the name of many wildlife species. Even if “common” is meant to suggest the likelihood of encountering a species, it is usually related to geography—what is “common” in one area may well be “uncommon” in another area. I think that the folks who name species should be a bit more creative in choosing names for species.

On Monday I encountered this Common Buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia) during a visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Take a close look at the colors and markings on this little butterfly and I’m sure that you will agree that it is uncommonly beautiful.

Common Buckeye

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Twelve-spotted Skimmer

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 11, 2025| 6 Comments »

I spotted this gorgeous Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula pulchella) on Monday (8 September) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I don’t see this species very often and think this might be the first one that I had photographed this season. The white spots in between the darker patches on the wings indicate that this is a male—females of this species have only the darker spots.

Most of the time when I am photographing dragonflies I have to shoot quickly before the dragonfly flies away. In this case, I had the luxury of being able to move around a bit to find a shooting angle that captured the details of the beautiful wings and the blooming wildflowers in the background. Why? When male Twelve-spotted Skimmers are flying, their patterned wings make them look almost like butterflies and I was able to track this dragonfly to the spot where he landed—most other dragonflies have transparent wings and therefore appear smaller when they are in flight.

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Calico Pennant dragonfly (male)

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 10, 2025| 5 Comments »

I was thrilled to spot this stunning male Calico Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis elisa) on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. At this time of the year I am eager to search for the survivors of the summer species. The number of dragonflies continues to dwindle as we move deeper into September and I never know for sure when an encounter with one of the species will turn out to be the last one of the season.

I absolutely love the look of male Calico Pennant dragonflies. The beautiful patterning on their wings and the red heart-shaped markings on their abdomens really make them stand out. I guess that I am a bit romantic when it comes to those red hearts and I managed to find a shooting angle that allowed me to capture that detail really well in the image below.

Alas, this male was the only Calico Pennant that I spotted that day. Dragonflies spent a lot of their time looking for a mate and then doing their part to ensure the preservation of their species. Perhaps this solitary dragonfly will find a mate or maybe it is too late in the season for that. As I said, I am somewhat of a romantic and I choose to hope that love will find a way for him.

Calico Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Spicebush Swallowtail

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 8, 2025| 3 Comments »

During a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I noticed that the thistle plants were attracting a lot of butterflies. I managed to photograph what I think was a Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio troilus) as it was feverishly feeding on the thistles.

The butterfly had sustained a significant amount of damage to its wings, which made identification of its species a little difficult—it is possible that this is actually a Black Swallowtail or one of the other dark swallowtails in my area.  Whatever the case, I was once again amazed that, despite the damage to its wings, the butterfly seemed to be able to fly and feed without any obvious limitations.

Spicebush Swallowtail

Spicebush Swallowtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Shredded wings

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 6, 2025| 6 Comments »

It has been a long, hot summer and I welcome the cooler temperatures and lower humidity of the autumn. For me, this is part of a cycle of nature that is repeated each year. For dragonflies, though, the autumn signals that their lives are drawing near to the end. Dragonflies begin their lives as water-dwelling nymphs and when they emerge and are transformed into the incredible aerial acrobats that we see, their days are numbered in weeks and months.

Earlier this week I spotted this Halloween Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis eponina) that appeared to have survived several encounters with predators. Its wings were shredded, but somehow the dragonfly was still able to fly. It’s probably my imagination, but the Halloween Pennant seemed to be smiling, enjoying every minute of its remaining days, happy to be alive. As I get older, I feel like that sometimes.

Halloween Pennant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eastern Comma butterfly

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 4, 2025| 3 Comments »

Throughout the summer I have did not spot very many butterflies—maybe they were as uncomfortable in the midday heat and humidity as I was. Now that we are in September I seem to see them all of the time. One of my favorites that I managed to photograph on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge was this beautiful Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma).

As many of you know, the Eastern Comma is one of the two “punctuation” butterflies in my area—the other is the Question Mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis). The two species are quite similar in appearance, with the arrangement of spots on the wings being the chief means of distinguishing between them.

I love the beautiful orange color of this butterfly, a color that seems to be a perfect match for the autumn season that is either imminent or already upon us, depending on whether you use the astrological calendar or the meteorological calendar. Meteorological autumn begins on September 1 and ends on November 30, providing a consistent three month period for data analysis. Astrologically the autumn season begins at the Autumn Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere) that is between September 21 and September 24—in 2025 it falls on September 22.

Eastern Comma

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Needham’s Skimmer in September

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 3, 2025| 3 Comments »

Earlier in the summer Needham’s Skimmers (Libellula needhami) were one of the most common dragonflies that I would encounter at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but over the past month their numbers have dropped significantly as their flight season draws to a close. I was therefore quite pleased to spot this mature female Needham’s Skimmer on Monday at the wildlife refuge.

The dragonfly’s colors seemed a bit faded, but otherwise she appeared to be in good shape. I am not sure if the stalk of vegetation on which she was perching was comfortable, but it helped me to isolate her from the background and its pointy protrusions add visual interest to the image.

Needham's Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Viceroy Butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 1, 2025| 2 Comments »

Surprisingly I have seen more Monarch butterflies this year than Viceroy Butterflies (Limenitis archippus), so I was delighted last week to spot this Viceroy last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge when it spread its wings. When an orange blur first moves across my sight line, I can’t tell the species apart. However, when the butterfly lands and I am able to look closely at the wing patterns, I can usually see the thin black stripe across the hindwings of Viceroys that is absent in Monarchs.

Viceroy butterfly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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