A park with no name!

"When you're young, you always feel that life hasn't yet begun—that ‘life’ is always scheduled to begin next week, next month, next year, after the holidays—whenever. But then suddenly you're old and the scheduled life didn't arrive. You find yourself asking, 'Well then, exactly what was it I was having—that interlude—the scrambly madness—all that time I had before?"

― Douglas Coupland

There's a distinct shift that happens after the Fourth of July; it feels as though summer hits a downhill cruise, the days slipping away just a bit faster. This August, I'll be marking my 60th birthday — a milestone that has a way of turning one's gaze forward, stirring up a whole landscape of thoughts about the future. 

 

Have you ever wondered why years seem to accelerate as we get older? For one, a year is a much smaller slice of our total life at fifty than it was at ten. But more than that, our brains naturally stop recording deep, detailed memory files when we fall into familiar routines. The antidote to a life passing by in a blur? Active, intense observation. By seeking out new spaces and micro-details in the world around us, we force our brains to slow down and record the moment.

 

There's a park just a few blocks from my apartment. To the best of my knowledge, it doesn’t have a formal name — the sign at the main entrance literally just says 'Park'. 

The main trail leads to an open clearing with several picnic tables and grills, but it's the narrow access paths cutting through the woods that intrigue me. In the summer, I come here for quick insecting fixes when weather is unpredictable. With rain in the forecast, I wasn't sure how much time I'd have, making this nearby spot the logical choice for a quick exploration.

From previous visits, I knew chances were good for treehoppers and leaf beetles, but I wasn't expecting to find Long-legged Dance Flies (Rhamphomyia longicauda). 

 

What a fantastic surprise!

They're such odd-looking things, with behaviors to match. Their mating ritual features an incredible twist on typical insect courtship: a complete reversal of traditional roles. While males of most dance fly species swarm to compete for mates, the dynamic here is flipped. At dusk, it is the females that aggregate in aerial swarms, dancing up and down in woodland clearings to catch a male's attention. Because the males provide a crucial, protein-rich insect as a "nuptial gift" required for egg development, competition among the females is fierce.

To gain an edge in the dim twilight, females deploy a fascinating evolutionary optical illusion to appear larger and more fertile than they actually are. Just before entering the swarm, a female inflates specialized air sacs along her abdomen to mimic a body heavy with eggs. She then wraps her middle and hind legs around her torso. This physical deception exaggerates her silhouette against the sky, tricking passing males into choosing her over her rivals.

A prospective male will fly below the swarm, searching for the largest silhouette to ensure his energetic investment in a prey item yields a fertile mate. Once he selects a female, he approaches and presents his catch. The female accepts the food and immediately begins feeding, which keeps her occupied while copulation takes place. It's a classic evolutionary arms race where a male's drive for an ideal mate is met by a female's highly successful strategy of visual deception.

Though they might seem like easy photography subjects, they are extremely skittish and disappear quickly into dark vegetation, often times taking refuge beneath a leaf. If you're not watching them carefully, it's almost as if they vanish into thin air.

Nifty little things ...

The comparatively docile Dogbane Leaf Beetle (Chrysochus auratus). Though nowhere near as challenging to photograph, they're still a favorite insect subject.

Oh dear ...

American Germander (Teucrium canadense) ...

A common native wildflower, but interesting in macro close-ups.

This next insect is a Citrus Flatid Planthopper (Metcalfa pruinosa). There weren't as many last year, but they appear to be in higher numbers this summer. Despite its common name, it isn't picky about citrus — they feed on a massive variety of woody plants, weeds, and vines, using their piercing-sucking mouthparts to drain sap from stems and leaves.

And here we have one of my target species for the parcel: the Locust Treehopper (Thelia bimaculata). Translated from Greek and Latin, the name literally means "nipple-shaped with two markings." They are incredible thorn mimics, blending in flawlessly against the bark of their host plant, Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia).

Very easy to miss!

What would an insect outing be without at least one tiger beetle? On the southwest side of the park there's a dirt path where Punctured Tiger Beetles can be found during the month of July. 

The Wisconsin River is running high again, swallowing up the exposed sandbars and leaving precious little beach habitat. This puts a temporary wrench in my plans, as the Sandy Stream Tiger Beetle is the next major target on my summer macro checklist.

 

All images © 2026 Mike McDowell

Don't forget Thomas Paine!

"Without the pen of Paine, the sword of Washington would have been wielded in vain."

― John Adams 

Though it was yesterday, happy July 4th! 

 

Here are a couple of excerpts from the President's Independence Day speech:

 

"But it all started with the miracle of history that lives forever in the heart of every single patriot in Philadelphia, our founding fathers summoned the courage of giants and the wisdom of centuries to boldly proclaim these timeless truths."

 

"Nobody can be like us. And with God's help, we will always be this or even better. We're going to be better. Here on our National Mall. We're celebrating freedom's triumph over tyranny. Liberty's conquest over oppression, and the enduring victory of the American spirit. From the July 4th, 1776 to July 4th, 2026. Big dates. That's big dates to big ones."

"Our destiny is written by God. And as we can see here tonight, after 250 years, the spirit of 1776 still lives within us all. It still roars in the hearts of our nation's capital. It still burns in the heart of every patriot, thunders through every city and town."

"And as our Declaration of Independence tells us, we are all made in the image of one Almighty God."

 

Not exactly ... instead, it says:

"the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them…"

and

"they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…"

This is Enlightenment-era political language grounded in natural law philosophy. It appeals to a general idea of a Creator and universal rights, but it is intentionally non-specific and does not articulate the distinctively Christian doctrine implied by "made in the image of God."

 

As most of you know, the Declaration was written by Thomas Jefferson, who was a Deist. Deism is a philosophical belief system that emerged during the Enlightenment in the 17th and 18th centuries. It holds that a supreme being (a "Creator" or "Grand Architect") created the universe and set the laws of nature in motion, but does not intervene in human affairs, perform miracles, or alter the natural order.

 

In any case, the founders also included this text in the Treaty of Tripoli: 

 

Art. 11. As the Government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen (Muslims); and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan (Mohammedan) nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

 

Not in any sense.

 

The text was presented by the President and ratified unanimously in 1797 by the U.S. Senate following strict constitutional procedures.

 

According to Frank Lambert, Professor of Colonial History at Purdue University:

"By their actions, the Founding Fathers made clear that their primary concern was religious freedom, not the advancement of a state religion. Individuals, not the government, would define religious faith and practice in the United States. Thus the Founders ensured that in no official sense would America be a Christian Republic. Ten years after the Constitutional Convention ended its work, the country assured the world that the United States was a secular state, and that its negotiations would adhere to the rule of law, not the dictates of the Christian faith."

So, here's a question ...

 

Who, more than any other person, inspired the people of the future United States, to seek independence from England?  

 

Let's ask Google Gemini (click on them) ...

Now chatGPT ...

And then Venice.AI ...

Thomas Paine was also a Deist who completely rejected traditional Christianity, seeing church rules and institutions as man-made inventions designed to control people. In his 1794 book, The Age of Reason, he argued that the Bible was a collection of cruel myths and folklore rather than the actual word of God, and he openly mocked core beliefs like the Trinity and the Resurrection. Instead of looking to holy books or church teachings, Paine believed that people should use basic human reason and scientific observation of nature to understand the world, viewing the beauty and order of the natural universe as the only real evidence of a creator.

 

It is almost impossible to overstate the importance of Paine's Common Sense. It wasn't just a popular booklet; it was the psychological turning point of the American Revolution. Historians generally agree that without it, the Declaration of Independence might never have happened when or how it did. 

 

And yet there was no mention in the President's speech about the significance of Thomas Paine with respect to our triumph over tyranny. 

 

Before The Age of Reason appeared in 1794, Paine was one of the most admired figures in the United States. Common Sense rallied support for independence, and many Americans regarded him as one of the leading voices of the Revolution. That reputation changed overnight after he published his attack on Christianity. Paine's criticism of the Bible alienated much of the public and some of the political leaders who had once praised him. Whether they agreed with his religious views or not, many believed his ideas threatened the moral and political stability of the new nation. As a result, Paine spent the final years of his life largely isolated, despite having championed many of the Enlightenment ideals that had influenced the American Revolution.

 

I suspect Donald Trump is more of a Cultural Christian than a true believer, using faith-based language as a deliberate, highly effective political tool.

More Ghosts!

"Bugs never bug my head. They are amazing. It is the activities of humans which actually bug me all the time."

― Munia Khan

To close out June, Mark Johnson called me Saturday morning to see if I'd be interested in heading back to Sauk Rec to search for Ghost Tiger Beetles. Then after that, trek over to Spring Green Preserve for more insecting opportunities. Having no definitive plans made, it sounded like a great way to spend the day. 

We found them right away. Numbers were up a bit from last weekend, with maybe 8 to 10 individuals, though they have yet to reach seasonal peak. 

Setting a proper exposure white balance can be tricky with this species. Last weekend, I left the camera on Auto, and the photos came out a tad warm. This time, I set a custom white balance, though the results still leaned slightly warm. There's also the challenge of display variability — images look different from one monitor or device to another. However, the color looks correct on my smartphone, so I think I nailed it.

This next one is freshly emerged from its burrow given all the fine sand on it ...

Presumably a male, it came out of nowhere while I was photographing a female — he attempted to mount her, but she shook him off and flew away. Anthropomorphizing, this is the rejected look. Better luck next time, pal!

Again, it's hard to know when to stop taking beetle portraits.

Punctured Tiger Beetles were present in the northwest section of the parcel, where the increased plant and lichen cover seems to be their preferred habitat over open sand. Interestingly, both species emerge around the same time during the summer tiger beetle season, following the spring emergence of other species. Because populations of Oblique-lined, Festive, and Big Sand Tiger Beetles have dramatically dwindled by this point, these summer arrivals face less competition for resources.

Three-banded Robber Fly (Stichopogon trifasciatus) with prey ...

On to Spring Green!

By the time we arrived around noon, the Prickly Pear had fully opened under midday's sun. It felt like the largest display I've ever witnessed at the site, though it's always hard to compare past years when you are completely immersed in the present beauty of the bloom.

This was a cool find ...

Mark spotted this Thread-waisted Wasp (Ammophila sp.) just as it was stuffing a large green caterpillar into its larval burrow. By the time I made it over to the spot, the main event was over, but the wasp continued to do a bit of excavation work around the opening.

When the female finds a caterpillar, she stings it precisely along its nervous system to paralyze it completely without killing it. Because the caterpillar is usually too heavy to fly with, she grips it with her large jaws and drags it across the ground back to her sand burrow. She hauls it underground, lays a single egg on it, and then steps outside to fill in the hole. 

She'll often pick up a small pebble like a tool to tamp down the sand and hide the entrance. When the egg hatches, the tiny wasp larva eats the paralyzed caterpillar from the inside out, saving the vital organs for last so the food stays alive and fresh until the larva grows up.

Efferia albibarbis with prey above, Proctacanthus hinei below ...

I recently discovered that some of the robber flies have been getting common names. P. hinei is known as the Western Red-tailed Marauder — how utterly appropriate for this beast.

Above, a fresh, completely intact Big Sand Tiger Beetle. By late June, individuals usually show some wear — such as faded elytra or damage to their limbs and antennae.

Apart from this American Copper and Banded Hairstreak, we did not observe a great deal of butterfly diversity. There were a few Monarchs and a fritillary I didn't get an ID on as it zoomed by.

Seeing the color of this Tick-Trefoil (Desmodium canadense) made me glance at my watch. It was 3:45 PM — prime time for Prairie Fame Flowers (Phemeranthus rugospermus). Would they be open? We decided to head over to Spring Green Preserve's West Unit to find out.

And ...

Yes! They are one of the most unique and elusive spectacles on the sand prairie. It's a plant that requires precise timing if you want to catch them open. First comes the short stretch of days in June they blossom. Then, individual blossoms open for only a few hours on a single afternoon, typically between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM. By sunset, those specific flowers close forever.

This is easily one of my favorite wildflowers, tied to two distinct memories — one good, one not so much. The good memory is from when Sylvia first found them. Dottie and I genuinely thought she had hurt herself, but it turned out she was just ecstatic to have found one by the plant alone. I still don't know how she did it, because before they bloom, they are completely camouflaged by the surrounding vegetation. The bad memory involves sitting on the ground waiting for the flowers to finally open, while an ex was furious at me for taking so long. Some people get it, and some don't.

Pollinators wasted no time ...

And so that's June. 

A stretch of hot weather is locking in this week and looks likely to hold through the weekend. If the conditions get too brutal, I'll probably skip any long-distance insecting adventures. Having said that, there are some great spots right near my apartment that I can scout for a quick nature photography fix.

 See you in July!

All images © 2026 Mike McDowell