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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Butterfly ID
Location: Prince Albert, N. Saskatchewan, Canada
June 13, 2011 3:25 pm
Hello! I can usually find almost anything I need ID’d on your site, but this butterfly eludes me. (And I’ve been through 65 pages of pictures here, as well as any books I can find!)
It was along the riverbank of the N. Saskatchewan River in Northern Sask.
The view of it’s open wings are blurry but it appeared to be mostly a shimmer dark brown/bronze colour.
I am thinking a satyr or maybe a buckeye of some sort? Can you steer me in the right direction.
Thanks for any help!
Signature: Tami

Common Alpine

Hi Tami,
Alas, your request arrived during our absence from the office for a week, and we are trying our best to respond to and post as many letters as we can.  Your request has us most excited, and the reason you were unable to find your lovely Common Alpine, Erebia epipsodea, on our website, is because your photos are a first for us despite the word “common” being a part of its name.  Additionally, the tribe Satyrini, the Nymphs and Satyrs, are very underrepresented in our archives.  This is probably because these species are often associated with remote wooded areas and they are very rarely found in gardens.  BugGuide has some nice photos of the Common Alpine, however, there is no information regarding it nor is there any information on this group up to the subfamily level on BugGuide. This is a sad oversight on this lovely group of generally brown butterflies.  Jeffrey Glassberg writes in his wonderful book, Butterflies Through Binoculars, the West, that they are found in:  “moist meadows and praries, from Rocky Mountain foothills to high elevations, occasionally above the treeline.”  We find you photos especially interesting because Glassberg also writes on the introduction to the subfamily Satyrinae:  “Most species rarely visit flowers.”  We have a vague recollection of reading in the past that Satyrs and Wood Nymphs often feed on tree sap, rotted fruit, animal feces, and even putrefying flesh, however, we cannot recall where we read that.  BugGuide does have several photos though of Common Alpines nectaring from flowers.  The Butterflies and Moths of North America website does indicate that adults feed on “Flower nectar.”  We did locate this online article on the Common Alpine.  According to the Colorado Front Range Butterflies website:  “Males patrol all day to watch for females.”

Common Alpine

Thank you so much for that speedy response.  You guys work fast there!
The links you sent were great, helping me to also identify a Northern cloudywing skipper.  I have actually ordered the Butterflies Through Binoculars book you mentioned, which will be a huge help and interesting reading.
I have, since taking those pictures of that quite large common alpine, seen a number of them quite a bit smaller and not nearly as brightly coloured, but all are in the meadow and forested areas along the river.  In searching them out,  I believe they are possibly a subspecies which is interesting!
While there is plentiful wild animal feces and dead animals in forested areas, I have only ever seen these butterflies on flowers, which for some reason, appeals to my sense of how well-mannered butterflies should behave.
Thanks again for your wonderful response.
Tami

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