Exploring Kootenay Lake

I take my camera for a walk along the lakeshore just as others might take their dogs for a walk. My guess is that camera walkers and dog walkers will often see different things. On yesterday’s walk, I saw three species of four–footed butterflies. Do dogs spook butterflies?

Also known as brush–footed butterflies, members of this group stand on only four feet; over time their former front two legs have been reduced to small brushes. The group is large and has many colourful members. Seen on this walk were a Green Comma, a Mourning Cloak, and a Lorquin’s Admiral.

This Green Comma alighted on a beach and began to sip nutrients. In this view, the foot number is not evident.

This is the same butterfly as shown above. That it has only two legs on the nearside is evident. Commas gain their name from a small white comma–shaped mark on the underside of the rear underwing.

The Mourning Cloak is unusual in that it can live a whole year and hibernate through the winter. It gains its name from the match between its colours and those of a cloak traditionally worn in parts of northern Europe during periods of mourning.

The underwings of the Mourning Cloak are not nearly as colourful, but in this view with its wings raised, the four legs can be seen, as can its extended tongue.

As with the two butterflies, above, the Lorquin’s Admiral is frequently seen sipping nutrients from moist ground. However, it also often perches in trees, apparently to bask in sunlight. This side view clearly shows its four legs.

Warning. As they say in the movies: mature theme, graphic scenes.

Dragonflies abound in the marsh at Grohman Narrows Provincial Park: many species, many individuals. All seem to have one thing on their minds: procreation. Out of all that activity, one species is featured here: the Striped Meadowhawk. (Others will appear in a subsequent posting).

Dragonflies (and damselflies) mate in the wheel position. The male grasps the back of the female’s head using claspers at the tip of his abdomen. She swings the tip of her abdomen up below him to receive sperm. After mating, they revert to the tandem position whereby he continues to hold her head and accompany her as she flies around dropping eggs.

A male Striped Meadowhawk poses for a portrait on a dried leaf. It is named for the white stripes on its thorax.

Those white stripes are more evident in this profile view. It is easier to find and photograph solitary males than solitary females. The males hang around the water’s edge waiting for females. As soon as a female appears, a male approaches her and copulation begins.

Striped Meadowhawks are copulating on the grass. They are in the wheel position. The male (red) is holding onto the grass with his legs and holding onto the female (brownish) by the back of her head with his claspers. She is holding his abdomen with her legs, and has swung her abdomen up under him to receive his sperm.

From behind, one can see the male’s claspers holding the female’s head.

These Striped Meadowhawks are copulating in midair. This was a rather difficult picture to take as they didn’t hang in one spot, but drifted around rapidly during their rather vigorous activity.

The same couple is now flying in the tandem position while she drops the fertilized eggs on the ground. The eggs are visible at the tip of her abdomen.

Males hanging out in the August sunshine at the water’s edge, eating, and waiting for females—it sounds like the script for a 1960s beach–party movie. Yet, that pretty well describes the life of the adult Pale Snaketail.

This dragonfly is a member of the Clubtail family—just look at its tail—but, out of the nearly hundred species in this family across North America, this one seems to be the only one found in this vicinity. It can be seen along the shores of lakes and ponds, but sources suggest that it is rather uncommon.

Pale Snaketails are perchers: they spend much of their time perching (as distinct from flying). Here we see them between short flights as they rest on various lakeshore rocks.

The Pink-faced Jewel Beetle (Buprestis lyrata) is one of the metallic wood-boring beetles. It is usually found doing its thing on Douglasfir or pine snags. It generally attacks severely stressed or recently killed trees rather than the living, vigorous trees. As such, it helps with forest succession.

However, in the case of the beetle in the picture, any attempt at boring is futile. It has landed on a window (as the reflections make evident).