Red-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...
Read MoreSpicebush Swallowtail on Eastern Purple Coneflower
This breathtaking sight was a recent morning surprise for me as once again the wonderful Eastern Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) brought in a special friend in the form of a Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) butterfly. It can be somewhat difficult to identify the Spicebush Swallowtail as the Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) looks very similar. To me, in terms of general and unscientific impressions, the Spicebush Swallowtail is a duller black, flies a little stronger, and seems a little larger with broad wings. One scientific way to tell the species apart if you have a view...
Read MoreRed-spotted Purple
This is a Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis) butterfly showing off some of those red spots on a leaf last week. The harsh and very bright mid-morning sunlight really washed the butterfly (and photo) out, so what you see is my work balancing those contrasts and tones a bit. Woodland edges are usually a good place to find them. I was only able to get a good ventral view, and the somewhat skittish individual never allowed me a dorsal photograph. I wish it would relax – it’s a Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) mimic and telling me it is poisonous, so why not shoot some...
Read MoreNorthern Mockingbird
Hey, keep it down over there, will ya?! Northern Mockingbirds will not only sing all day long, they’ll sing all night! Any time you have been startled awake to the sound of a fake car alarm coming out of a bush at 3AM you do not forget it. In this case this bird was rattling off hits like, “Common Tern” to “White-eyed Vireo” while not caring much for what I was up to whatsoever. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreTantilla supracincta
It took more than 20 years, but I finally got to see a living Tantilla supracincta! For some reason I would come across these only after they got run over in traffic, or macheted to pieces because someone thought it was a venomous coral snake. This is a minuscule snake – this one measured less than nine inches – and even though it has some venom to subdue its (probably far more venomous) centipede prey, it is perfectly harmless to humans. Happy the curse has been lifted! Twan Leenders RTPI President
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