Argiope spiders, the large yellow-striped orb weavers, populate the prairie in late summer and early autumn. Their webs wait to ensnare their insect food (this one has a bundle waiting for later consumption... mmm, dinner) and create sticky hazards for would-be off-trail prairie hikers. This is the first
argiope I have seen this year.
View from under the oak in Rollins Savannah.
In this one spot, there were at least 50
meadowhawk dragonflies, all hanging out in the late afternoon sun. There were so many that as I took pictures of one, others would actually land on my hand or arm. I have no idea why -- some sort of mating thing, I'd guess. They were at least 100 yards from the nearest body of water. This photo shows three of them -- a blurry one in front center, an in-focus one to the left, and a more distant one behind and to the right.
Katydid (or some sort of
orthoptera) on false sunflower. Those are some crazy antenna.
Arrowhead in bloom. The photo below shows the leaf.
Argiope spiders, the large yellow-striped orb weavers, populate the prairie in late summer and early autumn. Their webs wait to ensnare their insect food (this one has a bundle waiting for later consumption... mmm, dinner) and create sticky hazards for would-be off-trail prairie hikers. This is the first argiope I have seen this year.
View from under the oak in Rollins Savannah.
In this one spot, there were at least 50 meadowhawk dragonflies, all hanging out in the late afternoon sun. There were so many that as I took pictures of one, others would actually land on my hand or arm. I have no idea why -- some sort of mating thing, I'd guess. They were at least 100 yards from the nearest body of water. This photo shows three of them -- a blurry one in front center, an in-focus one to the left, and a more distant one behind and to the right.
Katydid (or some sort of orthoptera) on false sunflower. Those are some crazy antenna. 
Arrowhead in bloom. The photo below shows the leaf.
We had a foggy morning about a week ago which revealed dozens of spider webs in the meadow. I was just trying to photograph the webs, not the spiders, but when I looked at the pictures on the computer I saw a huge multicolored spider in one. I think it must be an Argiope species - thanks for the ID!
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