Sachem (Atalopedes campestris)
This looks like a worn female Sachem (Atalopedes campestris) skipper butterfly, a species that is really popping up a lot now. Keep an eye on anything that is blooming late and you might spot one.
Read MoreSwarthy Skipper (Nastra lherminier)
Thanks so much to everyone who joined us for the butterfly walk at Stratford Point today! Thankfully the Swarthy Skipper (Nastra lherminier) made an appearance several times with several individuals around. Plenty of Monarchs and the uncommon Cloudless Sulphurs plus Gray Hairstreaks and much more delighted over 45 attendees. With such a large group it was hard to all follow the discussion or every butterfly but we hope everyone enjoyed some of the great sightings. Come back soon! You never know what you might find, like the rare Long-tailed Skipper I enjoyed a couple days ago for a brief few...
Read MoreUnknown Eggs
I found these eggs last month on Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) and Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) leaves. This macro view lets you see they are mostly white, not quite spherical, and feature two gold bands. They are certainly tiny, and they are almost certainly moth eggs…but what species? I have enough of a difficult time sorting through the hundreds and hundreds of adult moths we see, let alone eggs! The closest match that I could find were those of the Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus) which would be exceptional. I saw some caterpillars had emerged with broken eggs and some snacked...
Read MoreSnowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis)
There are still clearwing moths on the wing, and in the last couple of weeks I have actually seen a number of Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis) like this one. When there are so many individual flowers to feed on they are all the more difficult to photograph with fast movement back and forth…here, there and everywhere! I thought the reflection of the sun being visible here in those rapidly beating wings was especially cool. Sightings like this underline the importance of having pollinator plants that are blooming and full of nectar during all parts of the warm season. Spring,...
Read MoreRed-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis)
Even as we enter September there are still plenty of beautiful butterflies on the wing like this Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis) photographed yesterday. It has some wear and tear, and it is a bit faded, but the exquisite design still shines brightly on a gray day. Take a look at all the shots it allowed me to capture while nectaring on this butterfly bush. You can see there are rips on the wings with the edges have been worn away, but what is most striking to me is how those wings still reflect and change light. The colors appear to be duller, bolder, brighter, darker, more vibrant...
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