Category Archives: Butterflies and Skippers   rss

Black Swallowtail

Beautiful Butterfly you might be interested in
Sat, May 16, 2009 at 4:58 AM
I found this guy resting on my azeala bush a few days ago, thought he was beautiful and grabbed my camera. I have never see a butterfly like this in Long Island, NY and possible ideas?
Mary R.
Long Island

black swallowtail mary 300x255 Black Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail

Good Morning Mary,
We hated cropping your beautifully composed image of a female Black Swallowtail because it was such a lovely photograph, but our readership is more interested in seeing the insects as large as possible, so we eliminated much of your azalea and the fence in the background.  Female Black Swallowtails have blue markings on the lower wings while the male has only yellow spots.  The male is also smaller.

What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Ruddy Daggerwing: Caterpillar and Imago

Ruddy Daggerwing photos
Wed, May 13, 2009 at 2:55 PM
I have raised a few of these cats to butterflies for my children to see the entire process. I hope you enjoy the photos. I love your website.
Karen
Miami, Florida

ruddydaggerwing cats karen 300x187 Ruddy Daggerwing:  Caterpillar and Imago

Ruddy Daggerwing Caterpillars

Hi Karen,
Wonderful contributions like your metamorphosis images of a Ruddy Daggerwing, Marpesia petreus, help to make our website interesting.  The caterpillars of the Ruddy Daggerwing feed on the leaves of figs.

ruddydaggerwing karen 300x287 Ruddy Daggerwing:  Caterpillar and Imago

Ruddy Daggerwing

Sheridan’s Green Hairstreak: State Butterfly of Wyoming

Wyoming’s state butterfly
Sun, May 10, 2009 at 5:39 AM
Hi Lisa Anne and Daniel, this past winter Wyoming was first designated a state butterfly, the Sheridan’s Green Hairstreak. The process was begun by some Sheridan County third grade students as a civics project. They wanted it to be the state insect but a sponsoring Sheridan legistator suggested naming it the state butterfly instead, “to leave the insect open for other students who may want to designate the state spider, for example”…insert your own joke here.
Anyway, it is a beautiful creature.
Peace,
Dwaine
near Powder River, WY

sheridans hairstreak dwaine 289x300 Sheridans Green Hairstreak:  State Butterfly of Wyoming

Sheridan's Hairstreak

Thanks Dwaine,
We are happy to hear that Wyoming now has a state butterfly and can’t wait to hear about the soon to be selected state spider.  This lovely Sheridan’s Green Hairstreak, Callophrys sheridanii is a welcome addition to our butterfly archives, which have grown significantly thanks to your numerous wonderful photographs.

What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Mating Mourning Cloaks

Brown Butterflies Mating in Flagstaff, AZ
Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 3:50 PM
Hello, today, April 29, 2009, I noticed 2 brown butterflies mating on the side-railing of my porch. At first, I thought the wood was peeling and went closer to pull it off, but realized that they were butterflies in the throes of passion icon smile Mating Mourning Cloaks They remained very still, but intermittently would flap their wings. I watched them for about 30 minutes and took several pictures and video. Although I attempted to identify what type they were by searching on the internet, there are far too many species for a non-etymologist like myself to even narrow it down. Bugman, please help me to identify these unknown butterfly lovers!
Beatrix G.
Flagstaff, Arizona

mating mourning cloaks beatrix 272x300 Mating Mourning Cloaks

mating Mourning Cloaks

Hi Beatrix,
We love Mourning Cloak Butterflies, or Camberwell Beauties as they are called in England. The Mourning Cloak, which hibernates in the winter, is a harbinger of spring in many parts of the world. It is often the first butterfly seen when it begins to warm and the days are sunny. We are thrilled to have your image of a mating couple.

Canadian Tiger Swallowtails attracted to putrifying flesh

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail
Sun, Apr 26, 2009 at 6:32 PM
I found these butterflies resting around a severed moose leg in Northern Ontario.
Katrena
Timmins

swallowtails puddling moose leg 300x234 Canadian Tiger Swallowtails attracted to putrifying flesh

Canadian Swallowtails and severed moose leg

Goodness Gracious Katrena …
Was a former American vice-presidential candidate in your area?    Male swallowtail butterflies are often attracted to mud puddles where they drink in the moisture which contains essential minerals like sodium.  This behavior is known as a puddle party or just puddling.  We have also heard that they are attracted to urine and fresh feces and perhaps to putrifying flesh, presumably for the same reason.  We located an image of Pipevine Swallowtails on horse dung online.  There are some awesome puddling photos on this website.  The encyclopedia of Arkansas history butterflies and moths page indicates:  “The males of many butterfly species gather at damp areas to imbibe mineral salts, known as “mud-puddling.” Males use these salts for their own bodily functions, but they pass them to the female in the spermatophore during copulation. These mineral salts seem to aid female egg production. Males and females may be observed imbibing mineral salts and amino acids from carnivore scat, horse urine, and rotting animal carcasses.”  You photo of Canadian Tiger Swallowtails, Papilio canadensis, with a severed moose leg will make quite the conversation piece on our site.  Thanks so much for sending us the image.

Brown Elfin

Brown Elfin b’fly
Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 3:05 PM
Hi Lisa Anne and Daniel. I noticed you haven’t a Brown Elfin butterfly on your site. Here is one on juniper that I found in central WY on 4/21.
Peace,
Dwaine
near Casper, WY

brown elfin dwaine1 270x300 Brown Elfin

Brown Elfin

Hi Dwaine,
We are going to trust your identification that this is a Brown Elfin, Callophrys augustinus, because there are many species in the genus and proper identification might tax our questionable taxonomic skills well beyond the level we feel comfortable.  According to BugGuide it is:  “locally common; the most often encountered elfin in most of its range.”   Elfins are grouped together with the Blues, Coppers and Hairstreaks as the Gossamer Winged Butterflies in the family Lycaenidae.

Zebra Swallowtail

Some Type of Swallowtail Maybe??
Thu, Apr 23, 2009 at 11:13 AM
This pretty butterfly was resting on damp fur this morning and it was such a pretty shade of mint green I had to grab the camera. It had extensions on the tail similar to yellow swallowtails (we have a bunch of those right now) but he/she was much prettier. It would not spread its wings very much for me but it did have red markings near the abdomen on the wings. I live in Eastern Tennessee and today is a nice warm, sunny day. Many butterflies are fluttering about. Anyway, I’d like to know what this little guy/gal is.
Pam Balog
eastern tennessee

zebra swallowtail pam Zebra Swallowtail

Zebra Swallowtail

Hi Pam,
What beautiful photos of a Zebra Swallowtail, Eurytides marcellus, puddling. Male Zebra Swallowtails take fluids from wet sand and it is believed that they need necessary minerals and electrolytes, and this is a convenient way for them to imbibe them.

zebra swallowtail pam 2 300x204 Zebra Swallowtail

Zebra Swallowtail

Mating Longwings: probably Small Postman Butterflies

Butterfly Love
Sun, Apr 12, 2009 at 6:29 PM
My wife and I just got back from Wild Animal Park in Escondido, CA where they have the “Butterfly Jungle” exhibit. We got tons of pictures, but I wanted to get this to you as quick as possible. I forgot to take a picture of the butterfly “legend” so I don’t know what kind of butterfly this is. You can see that the male and female have different wing markings. Enjoy!
Bob K – Bug shooter
Wild Animal Park in Escondido, CA

postmen mating bob 211x300 Mating Longwings:  probably Small Postman Butterflies

Mating Small Postman Butterflies

Hi Bob,
We believe this is Heliconius erato based on images submitted to BugGuide from various butterfly exhibits from around the country.  There are relatively strict guidelines on species selection for butterfly pavilions in order to prevent the introduction of exotic species to new habitats.  We believe that either local species or those that can pose no threat if they accidentally escape are the only acceptable species.  According to Wikipedia, this butterfly is also known as the Red Postman, the Small Postman, the Red Passion Flower Butterfly, or the Crimson-Patched Longwing.  It is native to Central and South America and there are occasional strays to Texas according to BugGuide.  We also located a nice webpage devoted to Heliconius erato that shows numerous color variations.  Since the caterpillars feed on passion flower vine, it is probably an easy species to raise in warmer states where the food plant is an invasive species.


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