Photographs of Insects, Taken in Northern Illinois
Dragonflies and Damselflies
Dragonfly
A large dragonfly resting on a coneflower leaf. The shadows of the dragonfly's wings are remarkably clear.
Painted Lady: Blue and Green Damselfly
A small (~1.5") damselfly is perched on the edge of a purslane leaf. The bright light makes the leaf sparkle, and picks out the hairs on the body of this neon colored insect.
Bees and Wasps
Wasp
A wasp of the yellow-jacket type is taking nectar from flowers of an orange milkweed.
Green Bee, Orange Flowers
A bee with a bright metallic green thorax, probably a halictid, visits the flowers of an orange milkweed.
Bugs and Leafhoppers
Striped Leafhopper
This blue and red striped insect is a leafhopper common in much of the Midwest. Although is is an extremely colorful insect, it is often overlooked because it is little more than a quarter of an inch long. The plant is Toad Lilly.
Milkweed Bug
A side view of a red and black bug.
Other Insects
Prairie Butterfly
A processed image.
Longhorn Beetle
A strikingly marked black and yellow long-horn beetle visiting a cluster of allium flowers.
