Subject: Mourning Cloak
Location: Echo Park near Elysian Park
April 17, 2017 6:28 pm
Hi there!
I found this emerging about 4″ in front of my front door just under the eve of the house. Is it a Mourning cloak? I can’t believe it was hanging out there in the open above my head where I pass through several times a day.
Thank you!
Signature: CLK

Freshly Eclosed Mourning Cloak

Dear CLK,
Even in climates much harsher than Los Angeles, the Mourning Cloak has a reputation for being a butterfly that flies on sunny days in the winter, even when there is snow on the ground.  Mourning Cloaks that mature in the spring, like your individual, will frequently hibernate during the heat of the summer, and the snow, cold and rain of the winter.  They emerge early in the spring when the leaves of preferred trees like willow and elm are just beginning to sprout.  Though many individuals that have overwintered are quite tattered, they are still able to reproduce before dying.  Eggs are laid and caterpillars grow quickly on the spring growth.  Your individual probably hatched from an egg laid earlier this year.
We just witnessed an interesting event in our own, nearby Mount Washington garden.  Tiger Swallowtails have been flying about, with the males patrolling the garden in search of mates and defending territory.  We recently planted several native willows to attract Mourning Cloaks.  Male butterflies will defend territory against different species as well as against members of their own species.  We watched a male Mourning Cloak attempting to chase a much larger Tiger Swallowtail from our garden.  It was quite amusing.

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Subject: Really would love positive identification, it means a lot to know of this visitor.
Location: Athabasca, Alberta, Canada
March 16, 2017 9:57 pm
Dear Mr Bugman,
Should you find the time for this identification request, it would be quite a delight indeed. Thank-you for your consideration and guidance.
Seen;
Athabasca, Alberta, Canada
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Is it a butterfly? Is it a moth? It was very much an intended visitor.
Please help me to determine what such beauty found me.
Signature: TannaT

Compton Tortoiseshell

Dear TannaT,
Too bad you were unable to get an image of this pretty little Compton Tortoiseshell, Nymphalis l-album, with its wings open.  The upper surface of the wings is much more brightly colored, which causes the butterfly to be somewhat flashy while flying, but when it alights, especially among dried fallen leaves on the ground, it blends in perfectly because of its camouflage coloration.  Here is a BugGuide image for comparison.  Was this sighting recent?  According to BugGuide:  “adults fly from July to November before hibernating, and appear again in May and June to lay eggs.”  If this sighting was just made, and you are having unseasonably warm weather, it is possible this hibernating individual emerged early.

Dear Daniel,
Thank-you mega much for your guidance and timely response.
This sighting was indeed just yesterday, March 16, 2017 at approximately 12:34 pm.
The air is still quite cool with snow on the ground and yet to come in the forecast.
How grateful I am to have been a witness to such a rare delight.
I know it was a sign from above to see her. Perhaps my story is quite alike hers.
I was previously told by a numerologist that March 16 would be the “unexpected beginning
of a change of fate that will certainly be the most beautiful of your life”.
She was a big part of my melting heart.
Thank-you again and again for your help.
-TannaT

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Subject: Butterfly in Baja California, Mexico.
Location: Baja California, Mexico, southeast coast.
January 2, 2017 10:10 pm
I just submitted a butterfly about 20 minutes before this one. It was the wrong picture. This is the butterfly that my brother took a picture of in Baja California, Mexico, southeast coast, on January 1st. We researched it for a while but could not identify it. Wondering if it is immature.
Sorry for the wrong picture last time.
Signature: Dan in Nevada

Blackened Bluewing Butterfly

Dear Dan,
The best we can provide at this time is a family identification.  This is a Brushfooted Butterfly in the family Nymphalidae, and we could not find it listed on the Butterflies and Moths of North America site, which leads us to believe it is probably a mainland species that has strayed to the coast of Baja.  We suspect one of our readers will provide us with a species name and a link very soon.

Update:  January 4, 2017
We received a comment that this is a Blackened Bluewing, Myscelia cyananthe, a species that appears to have much variation.  This individual on iNaturalist looks similar, but images on Butterflies of America and BugGuide look different.

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Subject: From Bangladesh with Bugs
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
November 18, 2016 9:04 am
Hello there.
We are two ecologists from Bangladesh who have started a small initiative (voluntarily)- that is to identify different species which live in our capital city Dhaka (urban biodiversity) using facebook group. We call it “Life in the midst of a concrete jungle”. The idea is that members will submit some photos and we will try to id them or find people who may help us. Sometimes, especially with arthropods its very difficult. Thus we are asking for your help. The quality of some of the photos may be quite bad for which it may be quite difficult. So even genus level would be quite good. Thank you in advance.
Regards,
Signature: Regards, Sate Ahmad & Mofiz Rahman

Common Evening Brown

Dear Sate & Mofiz,
Your project sounds marvelous.  Both of your butterflies are in the family Nymphalidae, the Brush-Footed Butterflies, and they are characterized by having their first pair of legs atrophied and useless for walking, so they appear to have only four legs.  We started our search on the Butterflies of Bangladesh website, and we clicked through all the members of the family Nymphalidae before coming to the conclusion that at least one of your butterflies is a Common Evening Brown, Melanitis leda.  According to the Butterflies of Bangladesh:  “Status: Very common. Habit and Habitat: Found in all types of habitat from grass land, cultivated land, bushes, homestead gardens, plain land forest to hill forests. In the day time it is hide with in dry leaves, which is difficult to identify. Become active before evening. Often seen come home attracted by light. Fond of rotten fruit and tree exudates.”  As you can see from the images on the Butterflies of Bangladesh site, this is a highly variable species.  We tried to find other examples online that more closely resembled the two images you submitted.  SambuiButterflies has an image with color and markings nearly identical to the image you provided of the Common Evening Brown resting on a leaf, a the site states:  “Not uncommon species with an enormous variety of underside patterns.”  Project Noah has an image that resembles the markings on the individual resting on the stucco wall.  We believe your moth is in the family Lasiocampidae.

Common Evening Brown

Dear Mr. Marlos,
Thank you so much for this! We really appreciate it.
Regards
Sate & Mofiz

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