beetle, caterpillar and butterfly
Location: Salzburg, Austria
August 9, 2011 5:21 am
I’m putting together a photo album of all the animals I come across walking with my daughter. I’d like to be able to tell her more than ”this is a bug”, and I’m hoping you can help… These were taken in Salzburg, Austria in August.
thanks,
Signature: Craig Potter

Scotch Argus

Hi Craig,
We are certain that you can appreciate the amount of research that it takes to identify a single unknown species, and three requests from different families in a single email is just too much for our limited editorial staff to handle.  That could take hours.  We decided to concentrate on your butterfly which belongs to the family Nymphalidae, the Brush Footed Butterflies, and furthermore, we knew it was a member of the tribe Satyrini, the Alpines, Arctics, Nymphs and Satyrs.  We believed it to be in the genus Erebia, the Alpines, and as you can see from this BugGuide example of the North American species, they are remarkably similar looking.  We believe you have photographed a Scotch Argus, Erebia aethiops, which we found pictured on Eurobutterflies.com, however, we stopped as soon as we found a close visual match.  Eurobutterflies lists the distribution as:  “Hills of central and eastern France to Belgium and eastwards to Russia and the northern Balkans. Outlying populations in Scotland and two sites in northern England.”  There is also this additional note that supports your August sighting:  “It emerges later in the year than most butterflies so it appears fresh when most others are worn.”  Should you be so predisposed to have an exact identification, you may want to view the other 40 members of the genus that are found on Matt Rowlings’s European Butterflies website.  As we stated earlier, we quit when we found one that looks close, and we feel that an expert probably needs to physically examine a specimen to be certain since this information is also posted on the species page:  “Identification: The usual Erebia identification problems arise with this species. However, helpful features are
- underside hw broad post discal band is pale white or yellowy brown and ground colour is rich chocolate brown
- underside basal area usually distinct (especially in the female) and same colour as post discal band
- wing fringes are dull grey, in the female they are weakly chequered.
- orange markings are bright and the eye spots intense. Overall, rich colouration.
- scent brand in male distinct.”
P.S.  What you believe to be a beetle is actually a Tiger Moth in the subfamily Arctiinae.  

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Thanks! have a picture as a gift
Location: Lutsen, MN
July 19, 2011 11:26 am
And since I just sent an email asking you to help me ID two specimens I thought I would pass along the best picture I’ve ever taken of a butterfly.
Take June 25 2011 near Lutsen, MN.
I present Mourning Cloak:
Signature: Heather

Mourning Cloak

Hi Heather,
Thanks for sending us your photo of a Mourning Cloak.  It really highlights the blue spots nicely.  We have observed that Mourning Cloaks are especially common this year in our Mt Washington Los Angeles neighborhood.  We will try to locate the other identification request you mentioned.

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A Swallowtail Butterfly ?
Location: Michigan, Kalamazoo Area (Southwestern Corner)
July 19, 2011 10:11 pm
I’ve never seen one of these before. i first thought it was a Spicebush; but after looking through all your photos, now i’m thinking it is a Pipevine. Can you tell me? Also … why doesn’t it’s tail have long points on it ? it doesn’t look to be damaged. Photo was just taken 18 Jul 2011.
I love your site. Thank you for being here for those of us interested in ’bugs’
Signature: Donna

Red Spotted Purple

Hi Donna,
The Red Spotted Purple, which many people consider the loveliest North American Butterfly, is not a true swallowtail, however it is speculated that it is a mimic of the Pipevine Swallowtail.

Red Spotted Purple

Thank You !
i feel honored to have had a visit from this beauty … twice!
the color was so vibrant and markings so striking
i truly enjoy your site !
Donna

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Tortoiseshell Butterfly?
Location: Buchanan, TN (36 deg. 24’56.85”N latitude; 88 deg. 12’27.63”W longitude)
July 17, 2011 9:12 pm
This butterfly was in my garden on a pea vine – pea bud is visible in the picture (there are very few blooms at this time) – at 11:47 a.m. on July 15, 2011. It was very windy and I had to take several pictures before I got a clear one. But in all that time, the butterfly never opened its wings, so I have no picture from the top. I had thought by the ”angled wing” shape that it might be a comma or question mark, but the silver crescent is DEFINITELY not there, it is much smaller, and the wings are not deeply scalloped enough. So I thought maybe some kind of tortoiseshell, though I am NOT sure about that at all either. Would appreciate any help you can give.
Signature: Mary Ann Claxton

American Snout

Hi Mary Ann,
The dead leaf mimicry of the Anglewing Butterflies including the Tortoiseshell, is similar to your butterfly, but the “nose”  of your butterfly is quite distinctly different.  You have photographed an American Snout, Libytheana carinenta, which you can compare to this image on BugGuide.  According to BugGuide:  “Snouts are frequently placed in their own family, Libytheidae, as the larvae lack the spines and horns of most Nymphalidae and the pupae lack the dorsal bumps of most Nymphalinae.”  BugGuide also has this remark:  “Raymond Neck (1983) was the first to note that snout population size is positively correlated with the intensity and duration of dry periods immediately preceding drought-terminating rains. Larry Gilbert (1985) conducted the most intensive study yet of snout population explosions in south Texas.”

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