Insects and Butterflies of Riverside, Iowa

Riverside sits in Washington County in southeast Iowa, in rolling farm country near the English and Iowa rivers. The author's sightings here are all insects found on rural farmland: butterflies such as the Red-spotted Purple and Little Wood-Satyr, water striders on a farm pond, and everyday species like German yellowjackets, house flies and drain flies. All six sightings came over two days in August. Most were at midday and in the early afternoon, when butterflies and wasps were active, with one drain fly logged around dusk. Warm, sunny late-summer days gave the best results. This is a virtual guide written by someone who has watched wildlife here, not a tour. You get the author's notes on each species and can message the author with questions about timing and habitats. The author is not there with you, and sightings are never guaranteed.