"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. Sue hasn't caught up with them yet this season, so we're planning a return visit sometime early July.
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 an flew away. Anthropomorphizing, this is the rejected look. Better lucky 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 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