Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Not too bugged!

One thing Antelope Island has is bugs. The brine flies along the lake shore can be found in big swarms, and at the right time of year the mosquitoes, biting flies and no-see-ums can be really obnoxious. Sunday was lovely day cool and breezy and we encountered none of the evil bugs. We did see lots of these funky little butterfly-ish things, as well as some big bumble bees enjoying the Indian Paintbrush. Clearly I need to do a little research as I do not know what the former really is. I did find some cool pages with links pictures of bugs and butterflies of Utah. When I have some time I will have to search for my mystery insect.

Edited to add... I love my world. It is so cool that when I want to know something I always have a great source.. the "beady people", my fellow beadmaking friends that I have 'met' through the lampworking forum. I 'know' beady people from all over the world with all sorts of different backgrounds, they truly are a great resource. This time I have to thank Ricky, AKA "bugnerd", lampworker in Arkansas, who is also an entomologist. I sent him a picture and he responded that my mystery bug was indeed a butterfly, a skipper butterfly. Problem is there are more than 50 images to click through to further identify my little flier. Enter comments from my friend Rose, a "beady" friend from Ohio, that I've been lucky enough to meet several times in real life. She sent me to a cool link, Bug Guide where you can actually upload a picture and ask for help identifying a bug! What a perfect resource for a nerd like me. I'm now registered and submitted, we'll see if I get a response. Thanks so much Ricky and Rose!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

If you post a picture at Bug Guide, they will identify it.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/6/bgimage

I get lost in there, looking at all of the cool pictures.