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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-02-2019, 05:47 AM
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Correct - Hobomok Skipper.
---------- Post added 07-02-2019 at 08:49 AM ----------
I think I heard somewhere that all the big Silk Moths have been hit hard by Parasitoids in recent years. In general, parasitoids are the main source of mortality for Butterflies/Moths (hitting mostly eggs and larvae)
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
08-12-2018, 08:07 AM
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FYI, that's a Gray Comma, and it's a Butterfly.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
07-28-2018, 09:02 AM
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That's actually an Eastern Giant Swallowtail.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
04-27-2017, 05:00 AM
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If you are referring to the previous post from smf, I don't think you are correct. smf posted a Spicebush Swallowtail ( male ). You've got a Black Swallowtail ( female ), and the second shot is one of the Tiger Swallowtails. The black bands along the body are a little wide for the Eastern Tiger, but if you were in the mountains, it could be an Appalachian Tiger. Knowing the exact location and date is often important for IDing butterflies. I don't know the exact distribution of the Tiger swallowtail species down in that area, and there's always the chance of hybrids making exact identification tricky.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
10-19-2016, 11:44 AM
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No, at that extreme angle.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
10-19-2016, 08:13 AM
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Yes, all butterflies ( and moths ) have 2 sets of wings. The Grass Skippers tend to strike this characteristic pose with the forewings angled upwards. It's sometimes referred to as the "jet fighter" pose.
It would help if I could see the underside of the hind wings - the Grass skippers can often be identified based on the pattern on the underside of the hindwings.
Based solely on the photos provided, and taking your location and time of year into account, my best guess is that this is a male Sachem:
Sachem - Butterflies of Ontario
Cheers, Rick
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
10-01-2016, 03:27 AM
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As already pointed out, it's a Red Admiral. It's not uncommon for butterflies to sustain wing damage. It could be from some predator, or it could just be from flying through vegetation, etc. If the wings look crinkled or otherwise malformed, it's because the wings didn't fully extend when the butterfly emerged from its chrysalis.
I've seen butterflies with extensive wing damage that seem to be able to get along just fine. Obviously, they won't be able to fly at peak efficiency, but I suspect that nature had "over-engineered" their wings, and they can function just fine with significant damage. In fact, some species have markings on their wings, and tails that mimic false heads. It appears that these evolved to trick predators into striking at the tails rather than the heads, and the wings break to let the butterfly escape. We see these butterflies with chunks of their wings missing fairly often, and tests have been conducted that indicate the strategy works extremely well for certain predators.
Those of us who photograph butterflies on a regular basis tend not to use photos of damaged specimens, but that doesn't mean we don't have plenty of them.
Cheers, Rick
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
09-25-2016, 06:24 AM
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Yes, definitely Skippers, which are part of the Super family Hesperioidea, which is grouped with Butterflies. Because of the angle, it's hard for me to ID the species, because many Skipper species are very similar in appearance, and I'm not familiar enough with the various species that would be flying down in Missouri at this time of year. The lower one looks like a male Sachem, but it's hard to be sure. That species is found in Missouri and it would be on the wing right now. The upper individual is at so much of an angle that it's hard to tell whether there is any kind of pattern on the wings. It's possible that it's a female Sachem ( they look different from the males ), and it could be that the male is in the act of "courting" it. But sometimes male skippers get confused and accost females of unrelated species, so that's no guarantee. A local expert would be more familiar with what's likely to be on the wing there right now, and would be able to hazard a better guess. With a good photo, I could look through my field guides and I might eventually come up with an ID but in this case, it's tough. Knowing the date, the location, habitat, etc. can provide additional clues to narrow down the possibilities.
Cheers, Rick
---------- Post added 09-25-2016 at 09:28 AM ----------
The skipper you've got there, next to the wasp ( bee?), is a Silver Spotted Skipper - the big white patch on the hind wing combined with the yellow band on the forewing is distinctive. In the zoomed out image, there's a second one at bottom left, and next to it is another skipper which I can't ID at this resolution.
Cheers, Rick
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
08-18-2016, 05:49 AM
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Or an animal may have urinated there. Butterflies cluster at spots like this to get moisture and/or minerals ( and other trace nutrients ). This behavior is referred to as "puddling". It's hard to know what's special about a particular spot where they've decided to congregate. It may be a spot where minerals and other nutrients are naturally concentrating. Or maybe someone deliberately put something there to bait them. Or maybe an animal got run over in that spot ( yes, I've seen this ).
Cheers, Rick
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
08-08-2016, 04:54 AM
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I believe you are correct about the Red Banded Hairstreak, but I've only ever seen them down in the Carolinas. We don't have them up here in the Great White North.
---------- Post added 08-08-2016 at 07:57 AM ----------
This is a Silver Spotted Skipper.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
11-19-2014, 02:15 PM
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That looks like a Small Tortoiseshell ( or one of its close relatives ). These butterflies overwinter as adults, and in the autumn they will try to hide in hollow logs, rock crevices, or old buildings and sheds. On warm days, they
may come out of "hybernation", and they instinctively fly towards windows to try to get back outside.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
11-19-2014, 01:49 PM
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Turn it down already!
The goggles, they do NOTHING!
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
11-17-2014, 08:11 AM
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Here's a few from the past season.
The first is an Eastern Tailed-Blue.. It's a tiny butterfly - about the size of an average person's thumbnail. The second is called the Question Mark, because of the shape
of the pale mark on the hind wing. The third photo is a pair of Aphrodite Fritillaries on Hawkweed blossoms. I'm surprised I managed to get both butterflies and the blossoms
in focus.
Cheers, Rick
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
02-24-2014, 06:56 AM
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It would probably be tough for them to be constantly updating their website. I don't know how it works at a conservatory that runs year round, but locally, the manager of the greenhouses at the University does a once-a-year butterfly show for ~1 week. A few of us who are lep enthusiasts help out. Every year, the lineup of butterflies changes, with the supplier having to make last minute substitutions and/or tossing in bonus species based on availability of pupae. He doesn't know exactly what he's going to get until the shipments arrive. It might be a similar situation at the conservatory, with the "cast of characters" changing slightly every few weeks as butterflies die off and new shipments arrive. Even if the conservatory had someone on staff willing to constantly update the website, they'd also have to find the images, get permission to use them, make sure all the names are correct, etc.
It's always tough to hit a moving target. Handing out a laminated guide for the "usual suspects" is a pretty good compromise.
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
12-22-2013, 03:49 PM
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Hey Jac,
I just got this from Ross Layberry, one of the authors of The Butterflies of Canada:
" the Sulphur is definitely a Colias nastes, the Labrador Sulphur."
Cheers, RC
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
12-22-2013, 03:37 PM
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I think those precautions are pretty standard. They even have them here in Canada where tropical butterflies wouldn't survive for long if they escaped from a butterfly house, and where there are few ( if any ) suitable larval food plants in any case. In Florida, those precautions are understandable. Foreign butterflies can establish themselves here in NA. The Cabbage White was brought by European settlers, possibly several times. The European Skipper is thought to have been brought over to Canada in the early 20th century. Both these species are now widespread. The European Common Blue seems to be well established near Montreal, and is spreading. The jury is still out on the (European) Peacock Butterfly - they're only seen sporadically ( again, in the Montreal area ). We usually don't get too upset about new butterflies because they usually don't become pests ( Cabbage white is an exception ), but they can be just as invasive as other critters. We don't necessarily know what impact they'll have on our native species.
RE: kids running wild in the butterfly conservatory - well, it's hard to fault kids getting excited about butterflies. I understand completely.
The obvious solution is to get out and explore the wilderness - off the beaten path. You're blessed where you are - you can practically shoot butterflies outdoors 12 months of the year. It's more of a challenge, but with a bit of effort, you can get photos of species that not many other people ever see, let alone photograph. Of course, being in the wilderness doesn't guarantee that other people won't interrupt your shooting. In fact, that shot I posted earlier of the Northern Blue was an absolute nightmare. The first one I'd ever had the chance to photograph, and all these hikers were barging past me, paying no attention to the fact that I was obviously trying to photograph something.
Stupid other people!
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
12-22-2013, 02:52 PM
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Nice Shot. I'm not up on my tropical butterflies either, but I believe this one is called the "Blue Clipper" - a very common species in butterfly houses.
I looked through most of postings in this thread, and I could offer ID's for some of the unidentified North American species, and correct a few mis-identifications, but most of the postings are quite old, so I'm not sure there's much point. If any of the OP's would like me to take a stab at IDing their butterflies, please respond with your posting # and I'll give it a shot.
Cheers, RC
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
12-22-2013, 11:14 AM
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Thanks!
I like your shots of the sulphur. I can't find an exact match in my Butterflies of Canada, it might be a Booth's or a Labrador Sulphur ( I'll try consulting some experts I know )
I'd really like to get up to the Far North to do some shooting someday. Hard to know when to go though - when the good bugs are flying, the bad ones are likely to be flying as well.
This is one of my most "northerly" butterfly images so far. It's a Northern Blue, and yes, it's perched on a blueberry, with lichens in the background. This was shot on the slopes of Mt. Albert, in Gaspesie National Park, QC.
Cheers, RC
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Forum: Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories
12-22-2013, 08:02 AM
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I'm not sure which of paulh's photos is being referred to here. The photo in posting #191 looks to be one of the blues. There are a few hairstreaks that have some blue on the upperside, but most of them have tails. I'm pretty sure it's not a Grey Hairstreak in any case - they don't have any blue on the dorsal wing surfaces. I'm not familiar with all the different blues that can be found down in Texas, but a quick look in my Kaufman guide shows a few possibilities ( eg. Reakirt's Blue) . ID would be easier with a photo of the ventral side.
I'd like to contribute, but with hundred's of photos to choose from, it's probably simpler to just post my website url:
Butterflies of Ontario
Cheers, RC
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