{"id":94056,"date":"2021-08-26T06:15:12","date_gmt":"2021-08-26T12:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=94056"},"modified":"2026-03-17T09:26:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T14:26:50","slug":"summer-dragonflies-and-butterflies-at-bear-river-mbr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/08\/26\/summer-dragonflies-and-butterflies-at-bear-river-mbr\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Dragonflies And Butterflies At Bear River MBR"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MatingMating Blue-eyed Darner dragonflies in a marsh<\/span><\/p>\n

There are times when birds are slow to appear in my viewfinder that I look around for other subjects. Today I am sharing some of the dragonflies and butterflies I’ve found at Bear River MBR<\/span><\/a> in the summer. They are other things with wings and I adore being able to photograph them during the warmer months of the year. All of these images were taken on September 12, 2017.<\/p>\n

The first photo is of mating Blue-eyed Darner dragonflies (Rhionaeschna multicolor<\/em>) that I found close to the edge of the auto tour route. This was the first time I have had this species of dragonfly mating and<\/em> this close to me. As I recall I had to suppress a “whoop” when I found them.<\/p>\n

\"PurplishPurplish Copper butterfly in the marsh at Bear River MBR<\/span><\/p>\n

Next up I photographed several Purplish Copper butterflies (Tharsalea helloides<\/em>) at the southwest corner of the auto tour loop in between photographing diving Forester’s Terns and feeding American White Pelicans.<\/p>\n

\"PurplishPurplish Copper butterfly nectaring on smartweed<\/span><\/p>\n

These butterflies are tiny and I wish I had been able to get closer to them. Hopefully the next time I photograph them I will be able to exit my vehicle and move closer.<\/p>\n

\"CloudedClouded Sulphur nectaring on a Common Sunflower<\/span><\/p>\n

Later in the morning I was able to photograph dozens of Clouded Sulphur butterflies (Colias philodice<\/em>) nectaring on Common Sunflowers that were blooming next to the road.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Clouded Sulphur butterfly in summer<\/span><\/p>\n

The Clouded Sulphurs were moving around frequently and with so many in view it was hard to decide which one to have in my viewfinder.<\/p>\n

\"CloudedClouded Sulphur Butterfly at Bear River MBR<\/span><\/p>\n

I appreciated the Clouded Sulphurs that came in close to me because I could see all the fine details in their scales.<\/p>\n

\"TwoTwo Clouded Sulphur butterflies on a Common Sunflower<\/span><\/p>\n

And when I could get two of the Clouded Sulphur butterflies in one frame I was more than thrilled and excited.<\/p>\n

Even when birds are slow or too far way at the refuge there always seems to be something that catches my eyes and that I want in my viewfinder.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my insect and spider photos. Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my flower, shrub and tree photos.<\/p>\n

All images were taken with my Nikon D500 with the Nikkor 500mm VR lens and 1.4x TC attached.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today I am sharing some of the dragonflies and butterflies I’ve found at Bear River MBR in the summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[124,12158,1148,12171,12164,26],"tags":[4004,6627,6098,12180,6041,6042,12178,12177,2649,12184,12185,3713,5366,2204,4070,6028,4062,4094,4363,6044,2139,12182,12181,4018,1571,12179,2315,5052,105,12183,4095,4307,5063],"class_list":["post-94056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-blue-eyed-darner-dragonflies","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-clouded-sulphur-butterflies","category-purplish-copper-butterflies","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-bloom","tag-blooming","tag-blue-eyed-darner","tag-butterflies","tag-butterfly","tag-clouded-sulphur","tag-colias-philodice","tag-common-sunflower","tag-copper","tag-coppers","tag-copulating","tag-dragonflies","tag-dragonfly","tag-female","tag-helianthus-annuus","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-mating","tag-nectaring","tag-pair","tag-purplish-copper","tag-rhionaeschna-multicolor","tag-sky","tag-sulphur","tag-sulphurs","tag-summer-3","tag-sunflower","tag-sunflowers","tag-tharsalea-helloides","tag-wetlands","tag-wildflowers","tag-yellow-wildflowers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t