Missouri

I was recently in northeast Missouri for a day or two.  Here are some insect pictures from a morning I spent out near Hannibal.

First up are several pictures of female ZABULON SKIPPERS which was a species I had only seen once before (in Virginia):

... and here are some photos of males:

I found this skipper and decided it must be a SACHEM:

This SILVER-SPOTTED SKIPPER was pretty tame: 

I was happy to finally find a photogenic SILVERY CHECKERSPOT:

This TAWNY EMPEROR might have been my first of the summer, strangely enough:

This robber fly was pretty serious looking.  I haven't dealt with identifying these things yet, however:

I haven't done much digging yet in my books for what species this is but I'm pretty sure it's a type of CRUISER:

That's all for now.  Stay tuned for some pictures from the southwest....