Australian Caper Gull
Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 1:17 AM
Hi guys,
Had my first photo opportunity with this Australian Caper Gull (Cepora perimale scyllara ) when it got interested in the Basil in my garden. There are a few of them around but they are usually very flighty and hard to get close to. Hope you like it.
aussietrev
Queensland, Australia
Australian Caper Gull
Hi Trevor,
Once again, thanks for contributing a new species to our expanding selection of Bugs Down Under. We are linking to a James Cook University website with additional information on the Australian Caper Gull, a butterfly in the family Pieridae that includes Whites and Sulfurs.
What is this blue and black butterfly?
Sun, Oct 26, 2008 at 12:23 PM
I live in Central FL (Orlando area) and saw a black and blue butterfly on one of my sunflowers. It had orange and white spots under his wings. I have looked on a TON of butterfly sites and cannot figure out what kind of butterfly it is. I’d love to know!
Kate
Orlando, FL
Pipevine Swallowtail
Hi Kate,
Your butterfly is a Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor. Peter Glassberg, in his book Butterflies through Binoculars The West, writes: “As butterfly gardeners plant more pipevines, the range of this species will probably expand.”
Swallowtail
Greasy Sex Picture
Tue, Oct 21, 2008 at 9:19 PM
Probably got your attention now :-), out bird watching and came across these mating Big Greasy Butterflies. Only had the 400mm telephoto on so not as detailed as I would have liked but thought you might like it for the bug love pages. Do many butterflies mate in this face to face position?
Regards the Moths of Australia website, Don is one of my inspirations in the bug world and I emailed him for an ID of the plume moth. He liked the picture so much he asked if he could add it to his page
aussietrev
Queensland, Australia
Big Greasy Butterflies Mating
Hi again Trevor,
This is a beautiful photo of mating Big Greasy Butterflies, Cressida cressida. While the common name is somewhat offputting, it is nonetheless a lovely butterfly. The Big Greasy is also known by the more attractive name Clearwing Swallowtail.
phoebus parnassians
Sat, Oct 18, 2008 at 7:25 PM
hi daniel,
attached are male phoebus parnassian photo’s taken this past july. the one with the little dark hook like lines on the rear wing i believe is a high elevation parnassian.
Parnassian
the other two photo’s are also a male parnassian but according to glassberg they are low elevation. however i took the photo’s at roughly the same elevation (9,000 feet)but on different days.
enjoy, venice
Parnassian low elevation
Hi Again Venice,
We are always reluctant to post location photos for Parnassian Butterflies since they are endangered and since collectors are quite rabid about catching them. The Phoebus Parnassian, Parnassius phoebus, is highly variable, and isolated populations are often quite different from other populations. We would hate to have your mountain decended upon by Japanese and German butterfly collectors, but we are thrilled to post your gorgeous photos.
Parnassian
¶
Posted 19 October 2008
§
‡
°
Caterpillar Resembles Lizard and Bird Droppings
Fri, Oct 17, 2008 at 5:02 PM Dear Bugman,
Love the website. Maybe you can help me indentify these stranger caterpillars I found this morning terrorizing my baby lemon tree. At first, I thought they were lizards, because of the “eyes” on their backs, and noticed they also look like bird poo . The biggest one erected two giant antenae. I captured some of the larger, more aggressive ones and created a little habitat. Any chance they’ll turn into butterflies?
Thanks! -Kyle
Palm Springs, CA 92262
Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar
Hi Kyle,
This is a Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar and it will metamorphose into a large lovely brown and yellow butterfly.
wonderful UFO b-fly
Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 8:24 AM
hi daniel,
what a wonderful new format on your website. thanks for doing that. and here i am again with a question. i got this UFO butterfly picture that i thought you might be able to id, or know someone who can. the photo was taken last june 25, 6 miles north of nederland colo. this b-fly got away from me so fast i was surprised i even got this photo.
in my quest for identification, i have searched thru my books and i also took the photo down the mountain to a butterfly pavilion. they didn’t know who this was either.
i appreciate any help you might offer, and i appreciate your work always. i’m on your website all the time, it is such fun.
thanks so much,
venice kelly
Uhler
Hi Again Venice.
We have done copious amounts of research on this and are confident that we can supply you with something akin to an answer. First, all indications are that this is one of the Satyrs, in the Nymphalidae subfamily of Satyridae. We believe this to be one of the Arctics in the genus Oeneis. Our edition of Jeffrey Glassberg’s Butterflies Through Binoculars The West indicates: “chasing arctics over rocks at 12,000 ft. in order to get a good look at them is not for the faint of heart.” The species we are most set on is Uhler’s Arctic, Oeneis uhleri. Glassberg writes that they are “usually with four or five small, dark eyespots spread along the HW submarginal line. HW usually with ’strata’ pattern, like sedimentary rock. Habitat: Dry prairies, ridgetops, and other dry, open, grassy situations. Abundance: Mid May-mid July. Food: Grasses. Comments: Flight is generally high off the ground, but slow, making them easy to follow.” We then turned to the www and found the following websites and information. The USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center website for North Dakota Butterflies has photos that look quite close, and lists a flight time that agrees with your sighting. The Butterflies and Moths of North America website lists you in the range and the flight times also agree. Repetitive information and photos that don’t seem to match your specimen can be found on the Butterflies and Skippers of North America website. We eagerly welcome all challenges to this identification.
Daniel,
OMG! thank you so much. i can’t tell you how happy i am to finally know who this guy is. i have been so lucky this season, to have photographed and identified 63 species of butterflies (and a few that i hadn’t id) mostly with in a mile of my mountain home. i still have a couple more i’ll send along to you sometime. i’m glad you liked the green comma too. thanks again soooo much, i just love your art project.
cheers, venice
¶
Posted 16 October 2008
§
‡
°
Butterfly ID request
Tue, Oct 14, 2008 at 5:01 AM
There have been many of these in the area in September, although similar to Monarchs, they don’t appear the same.
cneal
North Carolina
American Painted Lady
Hi cneal,
Your butterfly is an American Painted Lady, Vanessa virginiensis. BugGuide has a nice set of images that explain how to differentiate between the American Painted Lady and the Cosmopolitan, the Painted Lady with a wold wide distribution.
¶
Posted 14 October 2008
§
‡
°
Mantis vs Monarch
Hey Bugman,
I love this site! You have helped me identify the bagworns and army worms that have invaded my country yard this year, but today we had a nice treat in the garden. My children spotted this struggling monarch and thought he was just injured. Upon closer inspection we discovered that he was trapped by a well disguised mantis! While we don’t like to lose a monarch, it was fascinating to see nature in action!
Keeping it Country
Fairview, Texas (north of Dallas)
Preying Mantis eats Monarch Butterfly
Dear Keeping,
Thanks so much for sending us your fascinating Food Chain image. Mantids often wait in blossoms for unsuspecting pollinators like wasps, bees and butterlies. Your mantis appears to be immature as the wings don’t look fully developed.
Leaf-Like Moth?
Hi,
I found this creature on a piling of my beach house on the Jersey Shore in September on a warm day. I didn’t disturb it at all, just took a photo. I only see 4 legs so I’m not even sure it’s a bug. It appears to have an eye and teeth but they are just markings. Cool, huh? Can you identify?
Paul from NJ and CT
Northeast, coastal south New Jersey
Question Mark Butterfly
Hi Paul,
This is actually a Question Mark Butterfly, Polygonia interrogationis. The Question Mark is one of the Anglewing Butterflies, a genus of Nymphalida, the Brush Footed Butterfly Family. This family is known as Brushfooted Butterflies because the first pair of legs is modified into brushlike appendages not used for walking, so only four legs are visible. Your letter mentions this observation, and photo illustrate it. Your photo also nicely illustrates the silver Question Mark on the underside of the lower wings.
¶
Posted 01 October 2008
§
‡
°
Butterfly love & more!
I thought you would enjoy having these butterfly photos I took while on vacation in Pennsylvania. Attached are photos of (what I believe to be) mating Silver-spotted Skippers, a Great Spangled Fritillary and a Zebra Heliconian. Enjoy! If I mis-classified them…my apologies. Thanks for the great site!
Kristin
Mechanicsburg area, PA
Silver Spotted Skippers Mating
Hi Kristin,
Your identifications are all correct, and we are very happy to post your images of the mating Silver Spotted Skippers and the Zebra Longwing. Please explain the Zebra sighting. This species is found in Florida and the southern states, and to the best of our knowledge, it does not stray north. Perhaps it caught a ride on Hurricane Ike. Please write back and verify that the Zebra Longwing was spotted in Pennsylvania, and clarify that it was in the wild and not in a butterfly exhibit.
Zebra Longwing: In Pennsylvania?????
Hi Daniel!
I’m sorry, I should have specified that! The Skippers & Fritillary were photographed in the wild and the Zebra Heliconian was photographed in the butterfly pavilion exhibit at Hershey Gardens in Hershey, PA. I also have a pic of a Common Buckeye that I photographed in the butterfly pavilion. I went ahead and attached it, in case you wanted to post that for others’ identification purposes.
Thanks again and have a great week,
Kristin
¶
Posted 30 September 2008
§
‡
°
Tagged: bug love
Unknown Butterfly
I found him in the Big Horns.
Was unable to identfy him.
Scotty
Wyoming, Natrona County
Weidemeyer
Hi Scotty,
Your butterfly is a Weidemeyer’s Admiral, Limenitis weidemeyerii. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of willows and aspens, and it is found in the Great Basin area north to the Canadian border in habitats where those plants are present like moist forests as well as marshes are riparian areas of arid country.
¶
Posted 28 September 2008
§
‡
°
SPIDER
WHAT TYPE OF SPIDER AND BUTTERFLY?
CARY HARPLEY
FLORIDA PAN HANDLE
Crab Spider eats Gulf Fritillary
Hi Cary,
Your spider is a Crab Spider, Misumena vatia, also called a Flower Spider or a Goldenrod Spider. The prey is a Gulf Fritillary. To a certain extent, these Crab Spiders are able to change coloration to match their surroundings.
unknown butterfly
Good morning, We were at the Haw river in NC yesterday and one of the kids on the school field trip had this Butterfly land on her. She is very interested in finding out what kind it is. I thought it might be an Appalachian Brown, but those white spots eliminate that …is it some kind of Satyr? I can’t find it in my guide, even though it looks fairly common. If anyone would know…you would. Any help would be appreciated…as all the kids were very fond of the little guy.
Thank you,
Mary Sonis
Hackberry Emperor
Hi Mary,
Your butterfly is one of the Emperor Butterflies, most likely the Hackberry Emperor, Asterocampa celtis.
¶
Posted 25 September 2008
§
‡
°
Unknown swallowtail butterfly?
Is this a giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)? It was flying very quickly today, 21Sept08 at about 3 pm from phlox to phlox stopping briefly for a sip. It looked about as large as black swallowtail, but have never seen this one in my yard. I usually see Tiger ST on the phlox, especially this time of the year. Thanks,
Monarch Guy
Minneapolis MN
Giant Swallowtail
Hi Monarch Guy,
Your identification of the Giant Swallowtail is correct. It looks like your specimen is quite battered, and perhaps rode north on hurricane winds.
¶
Posted 21 September 2008
§
‡
°
Update Not a bee but a Hover Fly
Hello Bugman & Bug Lady!
I know you only have 30 minutes a day to spend on emails, etc, so If you read this, great! If not, it’s okay as well. Anyway, I sent an email with 2 photos. one a White -Lined Sphinx moth..and the other photo, I thought was some sort of bee..Well I discovered that it’s a Hover Fly. I Never would have thought it was a fly, but I checked all the categories I thought it would be in, and came up with nothing, so I got bored and just started looking through other areas of your site, and that’s how I happened across the Hover Fly! I added a few more photos, hope you enjoy them.
One is a worm or some such, another is a moth and the dragonfly, I think is a Widow Skimmer, which you have plenty of photos, I just thought you might like it.
These were all taken in Minnetonka Minnesota. Thanks for all your hard work,
Laura
Common Ringlet
Hi Laura,
We are happy that you identified your Hover Fly, but we must confess, that we are not sure we saw the photo. We did open one letter with a gorgeous photo of a Hover Fly, but didn’t have time to post it. Regarding this submission, it is not feasible for us to post images of different insects in the same letter. The image we are quite happy to post is of the Common Ringlet, Coenonympha tullia. The Common Ringlet is a highly variable butterfly, not a moth. You can read more about the Common Ringlet can be found on BugGuide
Thank you so much for your kind reply. Honestly, I didn’t expect that any of the four photos would be posted, so I’m thrilled. I really just love your site and wanted to be part of it by sending you and Lisa some pictures that I thought you would enjoy. And thank you for the information and further information regarding
the Common Ringlet. The very next thing I’m going to do is go to the BugGuide and read all about it!
Thanks again,
Laura in Minnesota.
¶
Posted 16 September 2008
§
‡
°
What is this bug?
This wasp looking thing was found stalking butterflies on the Mogollon Rim area of Northern Arizona around Payson
Thank you
Unknown Robber Fly eats Sulphur Butterfly
This is some species of Robber Fly, but we have not been successful in locating a match on BugGuide. The red wings are quite distinctive. The prey is a Sulphur Butterfly. We hope Eric Eaton can assist us in the identification of your Robber Fly.
Complete butterfly life cycle in central Missouri
I tried (and probably failed) to send pictures of the caterpillar and cocoon I had in my classroom.
The day he hatched, the cocoon turned transparent, and it hatched on September 10. We released it the next day. Attached are pictures of the caterpillar, his cocoon right after he completed it,
the cocoon just before it hatched,
a picture of him right after he hatched, still drying and next to his empty cocoon, and a final picture of him on a plant in our classroom. I unfortunately could not get a shot of his spread wings, but they were solid yellow, with a very narrow band of black at the edges. If you’d like, we took a few pictures of his face and wings with our hand-held microscope, which I can try to copy over and send if you’d like some 10x magnification views of him. Just let me know! Love your site,
Science Teacher in Missouri
Dear Science Teacher,
Your documentation of what we believe to be a Cloudless Sulphur, Phoebis sennae, are greatly appreciated. The image of the transparent chrysalis is most interesting. You can find out more about this species on BugGuide.
Magnolia, TX - light green butterfly
Howdy!
I love taking pix of butterflies and I plant my flowerbeds
to attract them. Your awesome site is my favorite bug-n-butterfly
reference, but I haven’t been able to find this lovely
light green beauty. Do you know what it is? Magnolia
is north of Houston, near Conroe. Thanks bunches,
Kristi
Hi Kristi,
We believe this is the Yellow Angled Sulphur, Anteos maerula,
which we located on the Mariposas
Mexicanas website. Our Butterflies Through Binoculars
The West book by Jeffrey Glassberg shows it in the southernmost
tip of Texas, so it is possible its range is expanding, or
perhaps it has been blown north by recent storms. It might
also be a closely related species, the White Angled Sulphur,
Anteos clorinde, which is also pictured on the Mariposas
Mexicanas website. Thanks for submitting a new species to our site.
¶
Posted 10 September 2008
§
‡
°
rss
