Subject: Red admiral proboscis
Location: Troy, VA
June 24, 2016 10:25 am
I know that the red admiral is not a rare butterfly, but I thought I would submit this picture because you can see his proboscis fairly clearly and really, his antennae are lovely.
Signature: Grace Pedalino
Dear Grace,
Rarity is not a criterion for posting to our site. Actually, if the truth be made known, the Red Admiral is one of our favorite butterflies. Perhaps it is because they and Mourning Cloaks are so long lived that they seem to have so much more personality than other butterflies. Famed author and amateur lepidopterist Vladimir Nabokov playfully referred to the Red Admiral as the Red Admirable. Your individual appears to be puddling, taking moisture and also important minerals, from the mud.
I’ll tell my husband, Nabokov is one of his favorite authors. Thanks for the information about puddling, I couldn’t imagine what it was finding on the ground to eat.
We are currently reading the complete published short stories by Nabakov and plan to reread “Bend Sinister”. All Nabokov fans need to read Nabokov’s Blues.