Subject:  First Monarch of the Year
Geographic location of the bug:  West LosAngeles
Date: 04/16/2019
Time: 02:34 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi Bugman,
Found this guy probably a short while after he emerged.  What a beauty.
How you want your letter signed:  Jeff Bremer

Male Monarch

Dear Jeff,
This is a beautiful male Monarch, and we agree that he is most likely newly emerged from the chrysalis.  We have seen a few female Monarch butterflies this year nectaring from the Lantana.

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Subject:  Migrating Painted Ladies
Geographic location of the bug:  Los Angeles, California
Date: 03/14/2019
Time: 07:40 AM EDT
For over a week now, Daniel has been seeing 1000s of Painted Ladies flying throughout Los Angeles, including on the campus of Los Angeles City College.  One neighbor sent Daniel an email inquiring:  “Hundreds if not many more butterflies emerging from the trees in Red Hawk Canyon. Been going on all day.  I tried to get some video of them but hard to discern against the trees and greenery all around.  I think they’re Viceroys. They all seem to be heading West.  Rene.”  Another neighbor left a telephone message inquiry.  Though he did not get any images of the flight, Daniel did manage to get this image of a Painted Lady nectaring on Baccharis in Glassell Park.

Painted Lady

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Subject:  Fritillary ID
Geographic location of the bug:  Oregon, Fall River (near Bend)
Date: 02/27/2019
Time: 12:39 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Can you help identify this fritillary butterfly.  I had no idea how difficult they are to identify.  I can’t determine if this is hydaspe or maybe zerene or perhaps a different species.  Thank
How you want your letter signed:  Bruce Carlson

Fritillary, but what species???

Dear Bruce,
Thank you for including both a dorsal and ventral view.  Fritillary identification can indeed be quite challenging, but we believe it might be the Zerene Fritillary, Speyeria zerene.  According to Butterflies Through Binoculars, The West, the Zerene Fritillary is “mid-sized fritillary that is extremely variable.”  The difficulty in distinguishing different species of Fritillaries from one another is further exacerbated by the extreme variability many species exhibit.  Here is a BugGuide image of a dorsal view for comparison and also a ventral view from BugGuide.  We would defer to any Fritillary experts on this matter.

Possibly Zerene Fritillary

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Subject:  Monarch Caterpillars?
Geographic location of the bug:  Columbus, Ohio
Date: 09/06/2018
Time: 09:24 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Do I finally have some?  After years of “growing weeds” (according to my husband), do I finally have some Monarchs on my milkweed?  I’ve spotted at least three…. I’m so excited!
How you want your letter signed:  Amber

Monarch Caterpillar

Dear Amber,
Your excitement is justifiable as these are indeed Monarch Caterpillars.  After all your years of gardening diligence, you are finally getting the rewards for your efforts.

Monarch Caterpillar

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