A Flutter of Butterflies

Taking a picture of a Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) is not a problem this spring, as every step through a field of dandelions scares up about twenty butterflies. Other than statements such as "the right number of variables came together", there doesn't seem to be a simple explantion for the dramatic increase in numbers (it has not been attributed to global warming). But the butterflies passing through now are laying egss ... are we going to be inundated by another wave this summmer?

Closely related to both the Red Admiral and the Painted Lady (the caterpillars of which I'm trying to raise to adulthood), the American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis), sometimes called the Hunter's Butterfly, also seems to be more common than usual this year. The markings on both Lady's upper wing surfaces can be variable, making the two species difficult to distinguish. The best feature is the light orange roughly triangular spot on the leading edge of the forewing – this area is distinctly white in the Painted Lady.

The butterflies are easy to tell apart if you can get a look at the undersides of the hindwings .... the American Lady has two large eyespots, whereas the Painted Lady sports a row of four smaller spots.

This is my fifth year of photography; it took that much time and patience to luck out and get just a glimpse of the irridescent blue upper surfaces of this butterfly's wings. I've learned to have a lot of respect and appreciation for the effort the real pros have to put forth to get their shots, these people are true artists.

Apparently this small blue butterfly with the anomalous dark patch on the hindwing is a variant of the Spring Azure (Celastrina argiolus). I can only find one other picture of a similarly marked Spring Azure ... it's too bad the person who posted this didn't mention her resource, as I would like to research this further.

Fresh tree sap always makes a great butterfly magnet. Initially there was another Mourning Cloak and a couple more Red Admirals but they took flight upon my approaching too closely.

Foreground (Bottom) – Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)
Foreground (Top) – Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)
Background (Center) – Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

The species and numbers were constantly changing as butterflies competed for the best places to nectar.

A mere photograph cannot portray the intensity of the blue and violet spots bordering a Mourning Cloak's wings.

An Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma) perching not far from the butterfly festooned tree, and no doubt visiting it from time to time for a sip.

Moths are often drab when compared to butterflies, but not always. My first attempts at taking pictures of a brightly colored Grapevine Epimenis (Psychomorpha epimenis) were a near failure because it wouldn't sit still for two seconds. The next day I stumbled across another individual and had a little more luck. The moth became so absorbed in sipping on a particularly tasty spot of mud that I was able to pick it up and turn it to take photos from whatever angles were advantageous.

Now this looks more like a moth should – a Forage Looper (Caenurgina erechtea) neatly camouflaged against a background of dust and gravel.

The mottled wings of a Splendid Palpita (Palpita magniferalis) blend into the bark its resting on.

In Pursuit of the Perfect Picture ... and People Friendly Butterflies

The Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis) seems to be uncommon locally, as its name implies the larve feed on hackberry. A beautiful specimen, likely recently emerged and showing no faded colors or wear and tear of the wings.

After patiently pursuing this subject for about half an hour hoping to get a good dorsal view of the wings, the butterfly finally stopped and posed for the camera ... on the cuff of my pants. Maybe it was attracted to the smell of my running shoe?

Yes, it must be my scented shoes. The Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) visible in the upper right took flight just before I could snap a picture of it sampling my clog's chemistry. The caterpillars, on the other hand, have different tastes and prefer to feed on plants belonging to the nettle family.

Vibrantly colored and without torn wings or missing parts, the butterfly perched on a nearby rock and sat still long enough for me to take a couple of pictures.

Another Red Admiral checking out the taste my jeans.

Most butterflies of the subfamily Satyrinae, such as the Northern Pearly-Eye (Enodia anthedon), prefer shaded moist woodlands. These insects tend to rest with their wings closed making it hard to obtain a dorsal view, and when sitting motionlessness on bark they are almost invisible.

Another people friendly species! Actually it was a hot humid day and what the insect was attracted to was the chemicals in perspiration on my hand. I often walk through a considerable amount of mud and water in the pursuit of the perfect picture, and the Hackberry Emperor and Red Admiral in the foregoing photos were attracted to my shoes for similar reasons.

A couple more members of the subfamily Satyrinae (a.k.a. Browns): I was unable to get a dorsal view of this Little Wood Satyr (Megisto cymela) but in this case it wasn't necessary to make an identification.

The two large pale rimmed eyespots on the forewings of the Common Wood Nymph (Cercyonis pegala nephele), visible from both above and below, make this butterfly easy to "spot" at a distance.

It can be challenging at best and often impossible to make a positive identification at the species level from a picture and you can never have too many views from different angles. Although the following two butterflies can be distinguished by inspection of their dorsal wing patterns, the undersides of the wings are radically different for a Northern Crescent (Phyciodes cocyta) ...

... and a Harris's Checkerspot (Chlosyne harrisii), making it easier to differentiate the two in the field or from a photo.

You never knows what will cross your path at an unexpected moment and it's impossible to be ready for everything. A faster film speed would have captured more detail of this Silvery Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus) courtship.

The orange spots on the ventral sides of the wings, and the tails on the hindwings, are distinctive field marks of the Eastern Tailed-Blue (Everes comyntas) ... if you can see them. Peterson's Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies gives the minimum length as 20 mm but this tiny butterfly appeared to be only half of that.

Two more of our commonly encounterd local "tailed" butterflies, the Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus) ...

... and the Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus).

The lakeshore is a good place to hunt for butterflies, where they are attracted to the moisture and bird droppings. But it takes a bit of luck to stumble across one worth photographing and the wings of this Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa), a bit rough around the edges, reflect the realities of life in the wild.

This Mourning Cloak didn't land on my hand voluntarily because attracted to my scent. It was at the side of the road, stunned by a collision with a car, so I took advantage of an opportunity to take its picture in exchange for a safe place to rest and recuperate.

The Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma) is another "people friendly" insect that has landed on me on several occasions. The silvery comma-shaped mark, the butterfly's namesake, can be seen on the underside of the hindwing. The color and pattern on the ventral sides of the wings combined with their irregular profile is a near perfect imitation of bark, and the butterfly virtually disappears when it perches on a tree trunk.

Mourning Cloaks, Tortoise Shells, Commas and Question Marks overwinter as adults and are the first butterflies encountered in the spring, often when there's still snow on the ground. The black, almost purplish border along the hindwings indicate this is the is the summer form of the insect. This area of the wing is orange in the winter brood .