Tangled Branches: Cultivated
happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Butterfly Roundup
Put on your cowboy hat - we're going to herd butterflies. OK, not really, but what comes to mind when you read the title of this post?
I've been posting pictures of butterflies on Picasa for a few weeks, but haven't written anything about them here, and it's time to fix that.
We all love the big charismatic swallowtails, but it seems to me they've been scarce this year. Just now as I'm typing this, a dark tiger swallowtail flitted by, stopping only briefly at a larkspur. But not long enough for a picture. It's worn-out cousin was here last week. Even though the colors are not bright and the wings are a bit tattered, both "tails" are still present.
I think my favorite butterflies may be the Ladies and the Admiral. These three are all members of the genus Vanessa, and I haven't any trouble finding and photographing them this year. It's the pattern on the underside of the wings that I like - the colors aren't showy and with the wings folded, sometimes these butterflies can be hard to see, but the swirls and circles in blues and browns are fascinating to me. They're much more colorful with their wings open.
Most of the skippers still look alike to me, but I can now recognize two of them without poring over the field guide. The Silver-spotted Skipper was the only one I could recognize for a long time - it's larger than most other skippers and unique with its large white (silver?) spot on the underside of the wing. But now I think I can quickly identify the male Zabulon Skipper with his pretty yellow and brown wings (his female counterpart is dark brown with a few white spots).
The Question Mark is another new-to-me butterfly. There was one "puddling" on the gravel driveway a few weeks ago, but it was very skittish and hard to photograph. This is the best picture of the lot.
I'll bet if you conducted a survey, you'd find that most residents of the US would name the Monarch as their favorite butterfly. I like them too, but hardly ever see them in my northern Virginia garden. I'm hoping they're more plentiful in central Virginia, and that this is the first of many.
Labels: butterflies, insects
4 Comments:
Wow! I'm impressed. I was happy to finally photograph a couple but you have a whole slew of them. I don't know how you manage to get near them. It seems as though if I get closer than 4 feet they flit away.
I agree the Ladies and Admiral butterflies look terrific. But I also like the "puddling" one for its vivid orange color.
Great shots! I have trouble getting pics of them, too...usually only when they are mating do they seem to be still enough for me. (Then I feel like a voyeur ;-)
Ki: I think the nectar plants keep the butterflies so busy that they let me get very close. I was debating whether the puddling one is a Question Mark or a Comma. Like the Vanessas, it's very well camouflaged when its wings are closed, but a different story on the top side of the wings.
Lisa: Hmmm, I must never be around at the right time. But, hey, if they're going to do it right out in front of everybody.... LOL
Wow. So many butterflies! I wonder if we just don't have as many here in the NW or if I need to open my eyes more.
Super gorgeous.
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