Maryann's Weekend Nature Trail

Here are some nature shots I took on my way to/from Dad's house in Monroe, NC (Union County) this weekend. We took Hwy 64 out of Wake County to Hwy. 49 then used Mt. Pleasant Rd. to crossover to NC 200 to go to Reed Gold Mine and then down into Monroe. Normally, we'd get off I85 onto 601 or off Hwy 49 onto 601. The route we took this time is much more scenic and had little traffic lights or for that matter, traffic.

I believe the butterfly below is a Pipevine Swallowtail. It, along with the other yellow lantana shots below, were taken in Locust, NC (Stanly County) on 7/12/08. A Spicebrush Swallowtail has two rows of orange dots while the Pipevine Butterfly has one row of 7 orange dots. The praying mantis shot from the other day was a Spicebrush. I've learned that a Black Swallowtail is not necessarily a Black Swallowtail.





There were many types of butterflies and moths feeding on the yellow lantana that day. I took pics of all the larger varieties.





I think the butterfly below may be a Tawny Emporer.

And, the Hemaris Diffinis moth was also present on the lantana.

Sunflowers near Reed Gold Mine in Cabarrus County.

The Pisgah Covered Bridge in Randolph County (think not far from the NC Zoo).

We saw some other neat things like a good view of the Rocky River at a large bridge crossing on NC 200. It was fun. All these stops and sites kept me awake on the ride.

The rest of the weekend shots are here and here.