Subject: Butterfly
Location: Western NY
February 22, 2015 10:03 am
I have gone dizzy skimming through photos on web sites to identify this butterfly. The picture was taken in late June. The orange on which it sits was hung out to attract Orioles. This was in western New York south of Rochester.
Signature: Denny Showers
Dear Denny,
This beautiful butterfly is a White Admiral, Limenitis arthemis arthemis, a northeastern color variation of a complex that also includes the Red Spotted Purple and the Western White Admiral. They will interbreed, so regions where the ranges overlap often have individuals that contain characteristics of two distinct regional forms of the species. See BugGuide for a more thorough description of the complex. We understand you are having a rough winter this year, and cheerful images like yours should remind our readers in the northeast that spring is not far off.
Thank you so much. I don’t know why it didn’t show up in the web sites I skimmed through of New York insects.
It gives me hope for spring.
Thanks again.
–DS