The Great Lake Michigan by Kate Dailey
Michigan has 3,288 miles of coastal shoreline, more than any other state except Alaska, and this weekend is the perfect time to get yourself to the Great Lakes coast before summer is gone!
Kate took this photo earlier in August. See more on her Flickr!
PS: With 1640 miles of shoreline, Lake Michigan has just about half of that coastline! See much more of Lake Michigan on Michigan in Pictures!
Giant Swallowtail with Thistle by Jacqueline Verdun
I’ve been saving this photo for 6 years apparently!! Way back in 2015 the Ann Arbor Observer had a feature titled The Biggest Butterfly: Seeking Giant Swallowtails that said in part:
The aptly named giant swallowtail is the biggest butterfly in Michigan.
Form your two index fingers into pointers and touch them to each other: if you take a large glove size, the butterfly’s maximum wingspan is approximately the length of both fingers put together. The field guides say around six inches.
The giant swallowtail’s coloration is as spectacular as its size. From the top, its wings look dark brown to black, with yellow dot ribboning and a yellow eye-shaped spot on the end of each wing. When the wings are raised, the bottom is revealed to be a subtle cream interrupted by wavy blue and rust bands.
Ronda Spink, coordinator of the Michigan Butterfly Network (michiganbutterfly.org), says she sees more and more of these butterflies each year. This species spends its Michigan winter in the pupa stage and emerges in two broods each summer, the first in May through June, the second in July through early September.
Read on for more including tips on the best time of day to see them!
Jacqueline took this gorgeous photo on August 20, 2014. You can check out another shot she took of this butterfly right here & see more in her Macro Insects etc gallery.
More Michigan butterflies on Michigan in Pictures.
Black Raspberries Growing Wild in Michigan by Lee Rentz
One of the things I love about summertime in Michigan is stumbling upon a snack when I’m out for a walk! Lee found these beauties near Battle Creek.
Head over to Lee’s Flickr for the latest & also check out his Facebook & leerentz.com to view & purchase prints.
There’s one in every crowd by Bill Dolak
I’m seeing photos of Michigan sunflower fields in my feeds, so I figured I’d reach back 7 years for one of my favorite sunflower shots! Bill got this photo of a field of sunflowers east of Vicksburg back in 2014. See moore in his massive Kalamazoo County, Michigan gallery on Flickr & have a great week!
Mark got this gorgeous shot on the Leelanau Peninsula. Here’s hoping you get a chance to bite into some delicious Michigan sweet corn! Head over to Downstreamer on Flickr for his latest!
Falling Skies by Heather Higham
Our friends at EarthSky share that August is THE month for meteor watching, with two major showers:
The Delta Aquariid meteor shower is long and rambling. You might catch a Delta Aquariid anytime from about July 12 to August 23 each year. The nominal peak falls on or near July 29. But don’t pay too much attention to that date; the shower typically provides a decent number of meteors for some days after and before it. In 2021, a bright waning gibbous moon will wash out a good number of Delta Aquariids in late July. As we move into early August, a much fainter waning crescent moon will be less intrusive. As always happens, when the Perseid meteor shower is rising to its peak (mornings of August 11, 12 and 13), the Delta Aquariids will still be flying, too.
In the Northern Hemisphere, we rank the August Perseids as our all-time favorite meteor shower … No matter where you live worldwide, the 2021 Perseid meteor shower will probably produce the greatest number of meteors on the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13. On the peak mornings in 2021 – in the early morning hours, when the most meteors will be flying – there’ll be no moon to ruin on the show.
Click those links for viewing tips & happy sky watching!
Heather took this photo back in 2016 on Loon Lake in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. See more in her Night Skies gallery. For sure follow her on Instagram @SnapHappyMichigan & view and purchase her work on her website.
Red Fox Pups (Vulpes vulpes) by John Dykstra
The Social Security Administration has shared the 100 most popular baby names for each state in 2020 to their online list. For Michigan in 2020, the most popular male name was Oliver & with Charlotte as our most popular female name. Amelia, Olivia, Eva & Emma completed the top five girl’s names while Noah, Liam, Henry & Elijah rounded out the top boy names.
The lists go back to 1960 when David & Mary led the way.
While John didn’t report the actual names of these two when he shared the photo back in 2009, the little guy on the left is definitely an Oliver! See more in John’s Michigan gallery on Flickr.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly by David Marvin
The University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web entry for the eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) says in part:
The eastern tiger swallowtail ranges from Alaska and the Hudsonian zone of Canada to the southern United States, east of the Rocky Mountains.
This species occurs in nearly every area where deciduous woods are present, including towns and cities. It is most numerous along streams and river, and in wooded swamps.
As with most butterflies, Eastern tiger swallowtails tend to be solitary. Males “patrol” for a mate, flying from place to place actively searching for females. “Patrolling” male tiger swallowtails can recognize areas of high moisture absorbtion by the sodium ion concentration of the area. It is believed that the moisture found by these males helps cool them by initiating an active-transport pump. Both male and female tiger swallowtails are known to be high fliers. Groups of fifty butterflies have been spotted in Maryland flying 50 meters high, around the tops of tulip trees.
The tiger swallowtail is thought of as the American insect, in much the same way as the Bald Eagle is thought of as the American bird. It was the first American insect pictured in Europe; a drawing was sent to England from Sir Walter Raleighs’ third expedition to Virginia.
You can read on for more including photos. I also found a page with a listing of Michigan butterflies and apparently we have eight species of swallowtail butterfly!
Beautiful capture by David. See more in his 2022 Calender gallery on Flickr!
Field of Flowers at the Farm by Robert F Carter
“Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.”
– Ansel Adams
Robert took this back in August of 2015. He shared this perfectly apt quotation from Ansel Adams on his profile & about this photo he writes:
While visiting a local farm market in Petoskey, Michigan, I was drawn to their crop of flowers next to their driveway. The flowers in the foreground are Bachelor’s Buttons. The road that curves through the hilly terrain can be seen near the barn in the distance.
See more in his My Petoskey gallery on Flickr & for sure check out his website.
More from Petoskey on Michigan in Pictures!
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