The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden was another potentially interesting habitat that I spotted on Google maps. I saw that it had a couple of lakes/ponds and popped into iNaturalist to find that it had a number of dragonfly records. Botanic gardens are usually a good source and this looked like being no exception.
We allowed the day to warm up a little, to about 20°C, which it did by midday. Overnight temperatures have been hovering around 10°C. We are, of course, having to get used to American forecasts in good ol’ °F. I’m better (always have been) with °F at the warm end of the scale than at the cooler end. I know/remember that 70°F is quite pleasant but 48°F, for example, needs more thinking about. I once experienced Chicago at 0°F, which really needs some brain work… and avoiding.
After a 30-minute drive we arrived in a car park and were confronted by the “E. Claiborne Robins Visitors Center”, which made me question whether we were actually in the correct place; nothing appeared to mention Lewis Ginter. All was well, this is where we should be and, on trust, we got old-wrinkly concession rates of $15 each (down from $20).
The botanical garden is, as one might expect in the US, very well presented. In front of you as you enter is a very imposing conservatory reminiscent of the glasshouses of Kew Gardens. To the right are the two lakes/ponds with well vegetated margins. Long story short: we walked around most of the water but I didn’t see a hint of any dragonflies.
What did hold my attention for a long time, was a flower bed with a large clump of “Cushion Mums” (so the label said) which Francine referred to as Asters (who am I to argue?). This dense patch of a food source was absolutely heaving with all manner of flying critters.
The largest of the feeding insects was a quite striking butterfly. For most of the time all I could catch was the underside showing while it moved about with mostly closed wings, frustrating little beasts that they are. Eventually, though, it positioned itself advantageously and I got the spectacular topside. Naturally this is quite a common butterfly around here, the Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia).
Also representing the Lepidoptera were a number of skipper butterflies. For these, since there are a number of confusing species and not having an American reference book, I will have to resort to iNaturalist for some identifications. Though I do have some ideas, I’ll need confirmation or correction from someone with local knowledge.
Naturally, hoverflies were well represented. Hoverflies are quite descriptively known as Flower flies in the United States. Again, these are going to require some local knowledge to sort out.
What I was completely captivated by and what I did manage to identify, Google lens pointing me in the right direction, was this endearing, colourful little moth; apparently one of the ermine moths, called the Ailanthus webworm (Atteva aurea). I have never seen the like of it before and what a great addition to my catalogue.
Given the extraordinary weather that we are enjoying – forecasters are talking about almost record temperatures for the season – I’m clearly a bit too late for any dragonflies, though there really should be some left if I could but find the right environment. Still, this fine collection from the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is very welcome indeed.
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