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Red Admiral Butterfly in Mt Washington

Red Admiral
November 13, 2011
We were enjoying the beautiful fall sunshine and warm weather in the garden and we watched this Red Admiral alight on the wood pile to sun itself, soaking up the warmth by aiming its dark wings at the sun.  When another Red Admiral approached the wood pile, this possessive individual flew off to do butterfly battle and quickly returned to guard its territory.  We had a recent conversation with noted lepidopterist Julian Donahue who lives nearby as we were discussing butterflies and native plants to be planted in Elyria Canyon Park with funding the Mt Washington Beautification committee received from the Los Angeles Chapter of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA).  Julian was not aware that Red Admirals are common in the neighborhood, so we informed him that they are frequent visitors to our gardens at the What’s That Bug? offices, a scant fifteen minute walk from Julian’s house.  We are thrilled we got this photo to document the Red Admiral’s presence in Mt Washington.  This guy’s wings are a bit tattered, but that didn’t prevent it from exhibiting the spunkiness we associate with this lovely Brush Footed Butterfly.

red admiral 20111113 300x219 Red Admiral Butterfly in Mt Washington

Red Admiral Butterfly

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Posted 13 November 2011 § Brush Footed Butterflies ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Androgeus Swallowtail and Caterpillar from Puerto Rico

about a caterpilar
Location: Puerto Rico
November 12, 2011 8:58 am
hey! I’m trying to find whats the name of the bugs I’m sending please replay as soon as possible
Signature: Jenny

papilio androgeus cat puerto rico jenny 300x186 Androgeus Swallowtail and Caterpillar from Puerto Rico

Androgeus Swallowtail Caterpillar

Hi Jenny,
Both your caterpillar and adult have a strong resemblance to the Giant Swallowtail, however, there are subtle differences that caused us to doubt that as the correct identification.  Here is a photo of a Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar from our archives and a photo of an adult Giant Swallowtail from our archives.  Our continued research brought us to the Adven Tours of Puerto Rico website and their butterfly list that included five swallowtails from Puerto Rico including the Androgeus Swallowtail that seemed to be a good match.  The Butterflies of Americawebsite pictures this sexually dimorphic species that indicates your adult is a male.  The Butterflies and Moths of North America website only pictures the female, but this information is included to support the larval food plant since your photos appear to be citrus leaves:  “Caterpillar Hosts: Leaves of trees in citrus (Rutaceae) family orange (Citrus sinensis) and Zanthoxylum elephantiasis.” 

papilio androgeus puerto rico jenny 300x206 Androgeus Swallowtail and Caterpillar from Puerto Rico

Male Papilio androgeus emerges from Chrysalis

Finally, we located this nice image of a stamp from Cuba picturing this lovely butterfly.

stamp cuba papilio androgeus 300x252 Androgeus Swallowtail and Caterpillar from Puerto Rico

Androgeus Swallowtail on a Cuban Stamp

Question from Keith Wolfe
November 13, 2011
Daniel, would it be possible to ask Jenny if she’s 100% sure that the splendid emerged butterfly resulted from the pictured brown and white caterpillar?  Thank you very much!
Best wishes,
Keith

Keith Wolfe writes back
November 17, 2011
Hi Daniel,
Despite your follow-up email to Jenny going unanswered, I’m nevertheless convinced that your identification of her caterpillar as an Androgeus Swallowtail (Papilio androgeus) is correct.  Good work, Bugman!  Although I recognize the larva, to include being familiar with several other look-alikes in its species group, I wanted to double-check with a scholarly list of Puerto Rican butterflies, such as this somewhat dated report — http://academic.uprm.edu/publications/cjs/VOL17/P059-068.PDF (tourism websites are not necessarily a reliable source of scientific information).  FYI on another young Androgeus Swallowtail from Ecuador — http://c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000Lx7jqbezL_M/s/1000.
Cheers,
Keith

Thanks for the vote of confidence Keith.  Your insightful contributions are always most welcomed.

hey! I’m sorry it took me so long to replay, but no the caterpillar is a totally different from the butterfly!
Jenny

 

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Posted 12 November 2011 § swallowtail caterpillars § swallowtails ‡ Comments (0) °

Western Pygmy Blue: North America’s Smallest Butterfly

World’s Smallest Butterfly
Location: Hawthorne, CA
November 7, 2011 11:27 pm
I was able to identify this tiny guy (about the size of a bottle fly) out at Bugguide today and thought I’d share it with you. It sat for about fifteen minutes feeding on the Bishops Flowers in the back yard. Such a little beauty. I’ve read it is the world’s smallest butterfly.
Signature: Thanks, Anna Carreon

western pygmy blue anna 300x216 Western Pygmy Blue: North Americas Smallest Butterfly

Western Pygmy Blue

Hi Anna,
Your photos of a Western Pygmy Blue, Brephidium exilis, are quite lovely.  Thanks so much for supplying our site with this new species and a statistic as well.  According to Charles Hogue in Insects of the Los Angeles Basin:  “This is one of the world’s smallest butterflies;  the wing expanse of even the largest individuals barely exceeds 1/2 inch (13 mm). … The Pygmy Blue is seen mainly in wild areas, especially where the salt-loving food plants grow – in alkaline valleys and flats, in coastal salt marshes, and along beach bluffs.”  Jeffrey Glassberg, in his book Butterflies Through Binoculars The West, writes:  “The smallest butterfly in North America.”  According to BugGuide, the Western Pygmy Blue is “ The smallest butterfly in our area.”  We are not certain where your smallest butterfly in the world statistic came from.

western pygmy blue anna 2 300x206 Western Pygmy Blue: North Americas Smallest Butterfly

Western Pygmy Blue

Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the compliment.  I read about it being the smallest in the world in a few places, none of them specialists in butterflies.  I used that subject title because I was sure it would catch your eye!
Anna

Ed. Note:  We wonder how it was determined that the Western Pygmy Blue is the smallest butterfly in North America.  Was it an average?  or perhaps, was it the smallest individual documented?

Posted 08 November 2011 § Gossamer Wings ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Marine Blue

Is this a Butterfly?
Location: Quartz Hills, Calif.
November 1, 2011 10:47 pm
I live in the Antelope Valley, Calif., and I have never seen this Butterfly before. At least I think it is a Butterfly. I’m wondering if it is part of the Lycaenidae.
Thank you.
Signature: Jean Haley

marine blue jean 300x238 Marine Blue

Marine Blue

Hi Jean,
This is a Marine Blue, Leptotes marina, and it is indeed one of the Lycaenidae or Gossamer Wings.  According to Charles Hogue in Insects of the Los Angeles Basin:  “This is another butterfly that is common in local parks and gardens because its larva feeds on the buds and blossoms of the ornamental shrubs and vines (Plumbago species, Wisteria Vine, sweet pea, and other members of the Pea Family.”

Thank you so much. Made my day!!
Jeanne

Posted 02 November 2011 § Gossamer Wings ‡ Comments (0) °

Ruby Spotted Swallowtail

Butterfly
October 24, 2011
I think it’s Ruby-Spotted Swallowtail, the same that bugguide describes as “Rare in the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Has strayed as far north as Kansas.” The location is Pirituba, São Paulo, Brazil.
Cesar Crash

ruby spotted swallowtail brazil cesar 300x214 Ruby Spotted Swallowtail

Ruby Spotted Swallowtail

Hi Cesar,
The range of the Ruby Spotted Swallowtail, Papilio anchisiades, is “From south Texas south to Argentina”  according to the Butterflies and Moths of North America website, and Brazil is certainly in that range.  According to Butterfly Corner, it is also called the Red Spotted Swallowtail. 

Posted 25 October 2011 § swallowtails ‡ Comments (0) °

CORRECTION: Guava Skipper from Mexico

Black butterfly with red necklace and stoplights
Location: Tampico, Tamaulipas, México
October 21, 2011 2:02 pm
Hi!
I recently took this outside of a classroom. This fellow (about 4 inches wingspan) was quietly showing off its colors. What struck me is that it looks like the x-ray of a butterly because of the iridiscent strays on the wings and body. I’ll bet this guy is very popular under an ultraviolet light. Any clue to this dark flier’s identity?
Signature: Rexnatus

skipper mexico rexnatus 300x219 CORRECTION: Guava Skipper from Mexico

Guava Skipper

Dear Rexnatus,
Before even beginning any research, we realized this was a Skipper, a group of butterflies in the family Hesperiidae that are typically classified as the link between butterflies and moths.  Skippers are characterized by very rapid flight.  Most North American species are small and drably colored, but often with metallic markings.  Tropical Skippers are larger and more colorful.  Our first attempt at identification quickly led us to a photo taken by Nelson Dobbs identified as the Red Collared Firetip, Elbella patarobasi.  Searching that genus name, we then found the Red Collared Firetip identified as Elbella scylla on the Neotropical Butterflies website.  Thumbnails of the entire Pyrrhopyginae subfamily, called Firetips probably because of the red tipped abdomen so many of them sport, led us to the closest match yet, the Pionia Firetip, Amenis pionia, and the specimen in the photograph was from Brazil.  While we still do not believe we have a species identification, here is what we believe we have identified.  We believe your Skipper is in the Firetip subfamily Pyrrhopyginae, and that is might be in the genus Amenis.  We cannot say for certain if your species lacks the fiery tip on the abdomen, or if it is hidden by the wings, or if only males or only females sport the red abdominal Firetip.

Ed. Note: Neotropical Butterflies is our new favorite website.

skipper mexico rexnatus 2 300x206 CORRECTION: Guava Skipper from Mexico

Guava Skipper

Correction courtesy of Karl
Re: Firetip Skipper from Mexico – October 21, 2011
Hi Daniel:
In most respects it does look like a Firetip Skipper, but I believe this is actually a Guava Skipper (Phocides polybius [=palemon]), a remarkably similar Spread-winged Skipper (family Pyrginae). Here it is on the Neotropical Butterflies site and on Butterflies of America. It ranges from Southern Texas to Argentina.. Regards.  Karl

Thanks so much for making this correction Karl.

 

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Posted 22 October 2011 § Skippers ‡ Comments (0) °

Funereal Duskywing

Erynnis funeralis?
Location: Hawthorne, CA
October 17, 2011 3:35 pm
Hi Daniel,
It was good to finally meet you this past Saturday at the Lummis House. We enjoyed your talk very much and are thankful that you give of your time in so many ways. We wish our Iowa cousins had not left early that same morning, as we are sure they would have enjoyed seeing the Lummis House. They are also bug enthusiasts.
While watching your presentation, we noticed many butterflies flitting about behind you and I had to control myself! My usual response is to immediately get up and head in the general direction of any bug. We also spotted what husband Marty thinks is a Cooper’s Hawk. Are they local to that area?
Saturday morning I spotted what I think is a Funereal Duskywing feeding on the Mexican Sunflowers in my yard. Am I correct?
Signature: Thanks, Anna Carreon

funereal duskywing ca anna 300x202 Funereal Duskywing

Funereal Duskywing

Hi Anna,
It was very nice meeting you and Marty on Saturday.  We really enjoy getting to meet our internet friends at public events.  Another contributor, Barbara from South Pasadena also introduced herself.  Marty was correct.  We do have Cooper’s Hawks in the neighborhood.  At our Mt Washington offices, when the mourning doves are searching for seeds in the yard, Cooper’s Hawks frequently view the flocks as smorgasbords.  We agree that this is a Funereal Duskywing, though we would not totally rule out the related Mournful Duskywing, Erynnis tristis, that is also found in this area.  The Butterflies and Moths of North America has a nice description of the Funereal Duskywing.

funereal duskywing ca anna 2 300x206 Funereal Duskywing

Funereal Duskywing

Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the response.  I did check out the Mournful Duskywing but still think that my photo is of a Funereal Duskywing.  It was very dark in coloring.  I could be wrong, though (wouldn’t be the first time).  Just happy to find yet another “new to us” bug in our small back yard.  Thanks also for answering Marty’s question about the Cooper’s Hawk.  We have Red Tailed Hawks here in Hawthorne.  Yes, hawks in Hawthorne.  They also look at the mourning doves as smorgasbords.  What a great description!
Anna

 

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Posted 17 October 2011 § Skippers ‡ Comments (0) °

Giant Swallowtail

Papilio cresphontes, Giant Swallowtail?
Location: Hawthorne, CA
October 12, 2011 3:11 pm
Hi again,
I also had a chance this morning to get some pictures of what I think is a Giant Swallowtail. Am I correct? Do you know how to tell if this male or female?
Signature: Thanks, Anna Carreon

giant swallowtail anna 300x206 Giant Swallowtail

Giant Swallowtail

Good Morning Anna,
Your photos are making us jealous that we need to go to work during the week and we are missing the opportunity to enjoy our own garden during these glorious Southern California fall days.  This is indeed a Giant Swallowtail.  To the best of our knowledge, there is no easy way to distinguish males from females.  That might require examination of the genitalia.

Hi Daniel,
I just remembered that I read somewhere that the male of this species tends to flutter it’s wings when feeding, so that may be a way to tell the difference between male & female.
Anna

It is difficult to see a flutter in a still photograph though.

Hi Daniel,
It’s wings were indeed fluttering.  I remember wondering if I would get a good photo.
Anna

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Posted 13 October 2011 § swallowtails ‡ Comments (0) °

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