Still Not Spring
It is not spring even though many Clouded and Orange Sulphur butterflies continue flying and feeding on nectar sources like this dandelion. Something that gives away the relative date of this photo is the low sun angle adding light from the side as we are less than two months from the winter solstice. You can also see a little bee mimic fly venturing into the flower, too.
Read MoreBlack Swallowtail
I have been on a bird tear lately, and considering it is May and this is the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History, I think it is very appropriate. However, spring is also springing for butterflies and I cannot neglect them. I found and photographed this Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) yesterday, and considering how fresh and crisp it looks the butterfly seems like it could have flown right off the pages of a Peterson Field Guide. The Clouded Sulphur, American Lady, Eastern Tailed-Blue and more are all in the air now. What species have you spotted so far this May? Scott...
Read MoreEastern Purple Coneflower
This Eastern Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) makes for a spectacular “ornamental” type of plant for boxes and plots! I put ornamental in quotation marks because it is far more than a decorative object or flashy looking flower. It is a native perennial that is very popular among our pollinators, and adding them to your garden – wherever it may be – will not only give it a lovely look but also a feeding frenzy of insects. On the day I took this photo I saw Black Swallowtails, Spicebush Swallowtails, Orange and Clouded Sulphurs, Cabbage Whites, a Viceroy, and...
Read MoreBountiful butterflies
It is hard to believe we are already about to enter September! After having above-average rainfall and average to below-average temperatures for much of the summer here in the Chautauqua-Allegheny region the second half of August turned out to be sunny and warm with a lot of lepidoptera on the wing and in our gardens. This is a traditionally wonderful month for butterflies. I have posted a bunch of neat sightings but here are more of the common species you have probably enjoyed in your yard. I have been looking and hoping for a Giant Swallowtail, among other rarities, but it is nevertheless...
Read More
