November 16, 2009
The butterflies inhabit a pond shared with 10 crocodiles in a village called Banani.
Puddling Caper Whites in Mali
This village is one of 10 Dogon villages located beneath the Bandiagara Escarpment which contains ancient Tellem cave dwellings in Mali, West Africa.
AJ
Puddling Caper Whites in Mali
Dear AJ,
Your photos are stunningly beautiful. These butterflies are a species in the group known as Whites in the family Pieridae. The butterflies are puddling, drinking water with dissolved chemical salts. This unusual practice is characteristic of many butterflies the world over. We will try to identify the exact species when we have time. We found one photo online on a Harvard website labeled Brown Veined White Butterfly that looks very close to your specimens. Continued searching found another visual match on the Birdman in Tanzania website, and the Brown Veined White is identified as Belenois aurota. The species often has spectacular migrations with thousands of individuals. The Marketgid Website also calls the species the Caper White. Maybe Karl can take a stab at this ID.
Puddling Caper Whites in Mali
unknown black butterfly
October 21, 2009
Thank you for the identification of the Red headed meadow katydid! It is appreciated. My father took this photo Somewhere in southern Alabama or Mississippi and I could not find this particular black swallowtail. Could you help us out please?
South Alabama bug guy
South Alabama
Unknown Swallowtail from Alabama is Common Mormon from butterfly house
Dear South Alabama bug guy,
In attempting to answer your question, we stumbled upon a wonderful website, Butterflies of America, that has Papilio thumbnails, as well as the entire family Papilionidae. We could not locate your specimen, and we can’t help but wonder if your father photographed this Swallowtail at a butterfly habitat, or if it is an exotic escapee from a butterfly habitat.
Hi Daniel:
This looks like a Common Mormon (Papilio polytes). It is an Australasian species, particularly common in Southeast Asia, so I expect that you were correct in assuming it was likely an escapee if it was shot in the wild. It is likely a male; the females are mimics of other swallowtails and tend to be variable and more colorful. Regards.
Karl
It turns out the common mormon was indeed taken in a butterfly house in Columbus GA… It was with other pics that weren’t. I didn’t think to ask because I didn’t know it was an exotic. But thanks for the info. I really love your website!
Swallowtail butterfly?
October 19, 2009
I’ve had a difficult time identifying this butterfly. It has markings similar to a Pipvine Swallowtail, but not close enough for a positive ID. Observed 10-18-2009 in Central Texas. Can you help?
Regards
Ed Sparks
McKinney Falls St. Park, Austin TX
Great Purple Hairstreak
Hi Ed,
Your lovely little butterfly is much too small to be a swallowtail. It is a Great Purple Hairstreak. Your photo is exquisite.
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for the kind words. What a magnificent butterfly! It never opened its wings on the flower, so I never saw the beautiful colors on its back.
Thank you for the identification!
Regards,
Ed Sparks
Austin, TX
Yellow butterfly
October 12, 2009
Found in the tall bluestem prairie, October 5, 2009
Tom Fuller
Goose Lake Prairie, Illinois
Orange Sulphur
Hi Tom,
This is a female Orange Sulphur, Colias eurytheme. The female can be distinguished by the spots in the black wing borders. The caterpillars feed on clover, alfalfa and other legumes. You can search BugGuide for more information on the species.
What is this butterfly?
October 8, 2009
This butterfly has black edges and the rest is yellow other than one black spot on each upper wing and one yellow spot on each lower wing. I would really just like the scientific name.
scientific name?
Manchester, NH
Clouded Sulphur
Dear scientific name?
This is a Sulphur Butterfly in the genus Colias. We believe it is a female Clouded Sulphur, Colias philodice. It is the white form of the female, a common variation. Both the Clouded Sulphur and the Orange Sulphur, Colias eurytheme, have a white form female. According to BugGuide, the best way to distinguish the two from one another is: “The white form female philodice can often be separated from the white form female eurytheme by the HW outer margin. In philodice the HW outer margin will have a more narrow smoother solid black border, while eurytheme most often has an irregular and wider black border, many times with diffuse white markings within the black border.“ BugGuide also has photos that illustrate this difference. Actually, upon closer inspection, we believe this to be the typical yellow form of the female Clouded Sulphur. The female can be distinguished from the male in that the black borders on the wings of the female have spots, and the male has solid black borders.
medium butterfly laying eggs on bean plant
September 25, 2009
I discovered this butterfly laying eggs on the two varieties of beans I have growing, a bush type and vine type. The bush type is planted next to a square of soy beans.
The insect is approximately 2 inches wide and their flight pattern is sporadic and jittery with a distinct blue color on her fuzzy bottom, with multi colored through primarily brown wings. I only got a good look while she was laying her eggs, perched on a bean leaf leaving behind a stack on pale yellow eggs (pin head size) on the underside of the leaf. I have found these stacks on the top, bottom, and sides of bush leaves.
Upon further investigation of the plants I discovered many catepillars or larvae nestled in leaf fold cocoons. These are also pictured they are yellow with dark (almost black) heads, two ‘big’ red eyes and tiny necks, tiny black feet closest to the head and yellow orange feet toward end, the larvae/catepillar is yellow in color and has an orange tinge at the rear.
I have included photos though I did not get a wing spread shot. In these you can see the eggs, larvae/catepillar, and butterfly resting on a bean leaf.
betty marie
Sarsota, Florida zone 9/10 for gardening
Long-Tailed Skipper laying Eggs
Hi betty marie,
We applaud your powers of observation. You have photographed a Long-Tailed Skipper, Urbanus proteus. We are thrilled to have the photos of the egg laying process as well as the caterpillars. As your letter supports, the food for the caterpillar includes plants in the pea family. BugGuide has some wonderful images of this lovely species.
Long-Tailed Skipper Caterpillar
what kind of butterfly is this?
September 19, 2009
my son took this wonerful picture of this butterfly in our backyard flower garden. i have never seen a butterfly like this one. maybe you could tell me what kind she is and how we can keep her coming back…
thanks, katy pierce
shreveport, louisiana
Giant Swallowtail
Hi Katy,
This is a Giant Swallowtail, Papilio cresphontes. In our Los Angeles garden, this species takes nectar from lantana. It is only in the past ten years that the Giant Swallowtail has expanded its range to include Los Angeles. The caterpillars, known as Orange Dogs, feed on the leaves of citrus trees, so having a larval food source in your yard will help ensure that the adult butterflies will also be present. According to BugGuide, the caterpillars also feed on the leaves of common pricklyash and common hoptree. Since the species is native to North America, those plants were the original foods prior to the introduction of citrus. With the cultivation of citrus trees in the warmer parts of the west, the range of the butterfly has expanded.
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