Which came first the butterfly or the caterpillar?
We are not sure but they both seem to enjoy spending time on the coneflowers.
Tag: butterfly photography
On the coneflowers
A fuzzy caterpillar makes their way through the Coneflowers.
Nibbling away one flower petal at a time enjoying a meal as they go gathering nutrients and the proteins they will need for their next stage of life.
Whenever we see a caterpillar it never ceases to amaze us that next time we see them they will be flying through the air as a butterfly or moth.
Metamorphosis is an amazing process.
Still Summer
Alas, while most of the summers wildflowers have come and gone there is still a bit of color to be found. The Dotted Gayfeather have done well this year and are in full bloom in the fields and along the roadside near our home and it looks like other besides ourselves are enjoying them as a little Skipper Butterfly enjoys a late summers sip of nectar.
Common Wood-nymph: Cercyonis pegala
I wonder if this beautiful butterfly we have named the Common Wood-nymph calls us the Common-Humans?
Duet
A wonderful duet between pollinators and flowers. In this instance Blanket Flower was the host of the party which had numerous attendees all lining up to dance with the host one by one.
Lorquin’s Admiral
The Lorquin’s Admiral is one of those butterflies you see flittering through the air all summer. Flying nearby but not to near heading left then heading right but one you half-heartedly chase around while eon the trail hoping they will land close enough for a halfway descent photo and if they do land and you chose not to have the wrong lens on your camera it will be a photo well rewarded. This was one of those days we were rewarded. We spotted The Lorquins perched near the top of a small pine tree and as soon as we could get the shutter clicked they flew down to a small streamed for a quick drink.
Isn’t amazing how many colors butterflies eyes come in?
Outside-Inside
It’s always an amazement to us how different so many butterflies look with wings up versus wings open and this little Blue Copper is no exception yet just as perfect on the outside and on the inside so to speak. A subtle color or specific pattern on one side to avoid predation or perhaps signal toxicity to predators and a more showy side thought to function predominantly to signal availability to mate.
Wow!
On wildflowers
Late July and the birds are quiet, the landscape is parched in many places as drought has tightened its grip, yet along a creek where the last water flows wildflowers are still in bloom the flowers are topped with beautiful butterflies.
While the Checkerspot photographed above is a species we frequently see each summer the butterflies below are ones we either have never seen or perhaps never noticed.
The Black and White species above is anything but black and white sporting iridescence that glows like a rainbow in the proper light. In addition to being beautiful this species was also fairly small measuring about 0.75 inches in length.
Another small and iridescent species measuring just the length of a petal on a wild sticky geranium. This individual was difficult to photograph always darting from flower to flower. Luckily they found what they were looking for on this flower and stayed long enough for a photo.
The smallest butterfly we have seen this summer was perhaps this species which seemed to favor the white sticky geraniums along the creek. Perhaps half the size of the flowers petal, small indeed.
Now that August is near the wildflowers are quickly drying and dying for the season and along with the flower the butterflies go as well. Well, next summer is just around the corner.
Everybody loves Rabbit Brush
Just a few weeks ago the Rabbit Brush was in full bloom and hosting quite a party where everyone was invited. Rabbit Brush is a native plant found over much of the western United States that blooms in late fall providing one final burst of color before winter arrives. According to the USDA, Rabbit Brush:Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus, provides both nesting habitat and forage for a wide variety of birds, insects and small mammals. One of the more frequent visitors to the party were White Crowned Sparrows.
In this case an immature White-Crowned Sparrow seemed to be foraging for insects.
Another visitor we noticed on more than one occasion was the Monarch Butterly stopping by for a sip of nectar as they migrate south for the winter.
Last but not least the Ruby-crowned Kinglets found the party too good to ignore and we frequently saw them foraging through the bushes in each of a meal.
A beautiful plant and a welcome splash of color as snow is forecast for the weekend.
And speaking of weekends, have a great one.
Just a handful
A Milbert’s Tortoiseshell Butterfly sips sweet nectar on an August afternoon. While many of the butterflies we see are present in great numbers through the summer there are some we only see a handful of and then only for a few weeks at the most. The Milbert’s is one of them.
Another not so frequent observation is the Red Admiral.
The Pink-Edged Sulphur is always one of the most skittish and elusive of butterflies for us to photograph each summer. They seem to have that sixth sense and fly away even before we can get within range.
Another butterfly we only see a handful of each summer is not a butterfly at all but a moth. The Police-car Moth to be exact.
nature has no boss 
You must be logged in to post a comment.