The poet Muriel Rukeyser once wrote, “The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.” The BugLady sees lots of tableaux unfolding as she ambles across the landscape. Because she was taught, at an impressionable age, by a professor who said “Don’t just tell them what it is, tell them ‘what about it,’” she tries to read the stories and understand the “what-about-its”

They’re big, they’re beautiful, and they’re back!  The BugLady has been out on the trail and has been enjoying the first butterflies and dragonflies of the season.  Anyway, this episode started out nine years ago as “Spring Dragonflies,” continued six years later as “Three Spring Dragonflies plus One,” and reappears today as “Three Spring Dragonflies plus Two.” 

As always, we pause to celebrate (while humming seasonal songs and drinking eggy, adult beverages), the Twelve Bugs of Christmas (plus one) – a baker’s dozen of bugs, many of whom have already starred in their own BOTWs but who posed nicely for the BugLady this year.

It should come as no surprise to seasoned BugFans to hear that the BugLady and her camera spend a fair amount of time in the warmer months cruising for dragonflies and damselflies. One of her haunts is Forest Beach Migratory Preserve, a reclaimed golf course in Ozaukee County. Fall is an exciting time to be at Forest Beach, because the big guys – the darners and saddlebags – rule.

OK – it’s September, but the bug season isn’t over yet. Outside of wetlands, if there’s anything better than a walk on the prairie, surrounded by Big Bluestem grass, with big Common Green Darners and Black Saddlebags dragonflies overhead, the BugLady hasn’t found it yet. Here is another batch of summer images, mostly from prairies.

The BugLady is still on hiatus but plans to get back in the saddle soon. She spent a magic day at the river recently, where the bushes were sparkling with Ebony Jewelwings. This is a slightly modified version of an episode from 2011 – some new words, all new pictures.

In past years, the BugLady has taken off during the month of May or June to refresh her sadly depleted “BOTW Future” file with new images of emerging insects, and she plans to do that. BUT – she’s also in the process of moving out of a house that she’s lived in for 40 years (rule of thumb – if you haven’t seen it/thought about it/used it for 10 years or so, you probably don’t need it). St. Vinnies’ is thrilled. The BugLady is thrilled that she’ll go forward with about 1/3 of her present worldly possessions.

Dragonfly season can’t come soon enough. This BOTW is a renovation of a BOTW from five years ago – some new thoughts, all new pictures. Apologies – life is busy.
The BugLady is looking forward to chasing Sedge Sprites again this year. They hang out in the kinds of low, dark, inaccessible places that require contortions by photographers – places that both need a flash and are overpowered by one.

Ever since the BugLady started her “Bugs in the News” sub-series, alert BugFans have been sending links to articles they’ve come across. Thanks, BugFans! Alas, to view a few of these, you have to wade through some ad content.

Let us usher in the New Year with dragonflies. Two of them.

Whiteface dragonflies are in the genus Leucorrhinia in the large (1,000+ species) and glorious Skimmer family Libellulidae. There are about 100 Libellulid species in North America, and seven of them are whitefaces. We visited whitefaces in 2011 in the person of the Dot-tailed Whiteface.