This is the best picture I’ve made of this small butterfly from the Lycaenidae family.
Category Archives: Lepidoptera
Eastern-tailed blue
This tiny butterfly can be difficult to photograph, especially with its wings open.
Clouded Sulphur
Doesn’t look very orange to you? Well maybe it’s orange on the inside. I submitted this photo to BAMONA, and they (eventually) classified it as Clouded Sulphur. (I assumed it was Orange Sulphur.) So I’ve updated this post with the new id.
Pearl Crescents
Dorsal view and ventral view of the Pearl Crescent butterfly (Phyciodes tharos) in a single photograph.
The Many Shades of the Spangled Fritillary
The silvery spots (or “spangles”) of the Great Spangled Fritillary are just like shiny little mirrors. With the right angle, they will reflect the colors around them. These pictures are all of the same butterfly as he sampled the many flavors of zinnia in our garden.
Tiger Swallowtail
Everything butterfly-related is a running a little late this year because of the cold spring. Normally I would see these in July, but now they are here in August. I’m not going to complain.
Zabulon Skipper
Ahh, skippers. So many, so very hard to tell apart. In this case, I feel confident in my id.
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth
As the name implies, this is a moth that bears a passing resemblance to a hummingbird when seen with the naked eye. The wings beat very fast, just like a hummingbird, and I was fortunate to capture an image where they could be clearly seen.
Great Spangled Fritallary
In general, butterflies have been few and far between this year. Many people have noticed, and there is speculation on causes from the unusually cold spring all the way to the nefarious “climate change.” So far I’ve only seen one of these in my yard. (And yes, that’s Poison Ivy that the Fritallary is resting …
Virginia Ctenucha
Good luck pronouncing the name of this moth. The black wings are usually covering up the beautiful metallic blue body; fortunately he was stretching when I took this photo.