363 replies to this topic

[Alilo6]

Butterflies are great to photograph to ease the frustration of a day with no birds around. This Spicebush Swallowtail saved my day!

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[Liam]

Oh, I'm going to enjoy this thread I love butterflies. Great shot of the Spicebush.

Here's a Gray Hairstreak from August.

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[Alilo6]

And great shot of your Gray Hairstreak. That is one I don't have yet. They are in my range, but haven't been in front of my lens yet.

Liam - Are you a butterfly lifer too?

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[Liam]

Jasmine:

Liam - Are you a butterfly lifer too?

Thanks. Indeed I am. Haven't seen too many species, though (somewhere around 40).

Here's a Clouded Skipper.

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[Alilo6]

From your "somewhere around 40" comment, I gather you are a bit more relaxed about counting than I. I -- a mere pup at butterfly counting -- have only 24 -- mostly garnered in one year. The Bronze Copper is one of my favorites and most abundant. Both sides of this species are totally different.

PS - I'll run out of pics long before you do! Hopefully others will step up to the plate to help out.  

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[Liam]

Wow. That's a beautiful butterfly. I have a similar relative, the Pearl Crescent.

I do have an exact number of species, somewhere, but I haven't updated it recently. I just know my latest lifer was a Common Checker Skipper.

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[Alilo6]

We have the Pearl Crescent here too. Here's my version - a slightly different angle. These fellows seem to be less skittish than other species. Do you have Mimic Crescents?  The map on the site I use says they are only on the edge of North Carolina. Closer to you than me. They are out of my range.

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[Liam]

No, I don't think I have the Mimic Crescent. I Googled them, a really cool species.

One of my favorite butterflies is the Silver-Spotted Skipper. They're really common up in the mountains. Do you have them?

Here's a photo of one in North Carolina.

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[Alilo6]

Yes, we have them. Here's my favorite pic of the Silver Spotted and I'll raise you one Common Buckeye. Do you have them? They are really common here. Another one of the slow, more people-friendly butterflies.

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[Alilo6]

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[Liam]

Jasmine:

I'll raise you one Common Buckeye. Do you have them?

Haha. I have plenty of them here. Every other butterfly is a C. Buckeye. Here's my best shot of one.

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[lyceel]

Tiger Swallowtail

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[lyceel]

A couple of Monarchs, I think...

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[lyceel]

Don't know the species of this one...

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[lyceel]

Or this one...

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[lyceel]

This is a Blue Morph Butterfly from Costa Rica.  For some reason, I never managed to get a shot of the top side of the wings, which is a beautiful blue color.

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[Alilo6]

Great shots Lyceel! Your species are as follows (taken with a grain of salt that I am no expert): 1 - Eastern Swallowtail, 2 - Viceroy, 3 - Black Swallowtail and 4 - (I'm pretty sure) Zebra Longwing (Liam - please 2nd this one). I'm so envious of the Blue Morph - it's a real gem. It seems as if certain butterflies will hold their wings out forever and some prefer to keep them closed most of the time. The Sulpher family is the latter.

The distinguishing difference between a Monarch and a Viceroy is that the Viceroy has a horizontal stripe running through their lower wing where a Monarch does not. I've attached a photo of a Monarch to show the difference. Darn near drove me nuts taking a billion photos!

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[Alilo6]

Liam:

Jasmine:

I'll raise you one Common Buckeye. Do you have them?

Haha. I have plenty of them here. Every other butterfly is a C. Buckeye. Here's my best shot of one.

You aced me with your gorgeous Buckeye! PS - Have you ever heard of a Butterfly Bush? I just saw one it last year and loved the flowers. I am told it draws more butterflies than you can shake a stick at. I am going to plant some seeds this spring.

[sandylee]

Here is a Red Spotted Purple "driving" our golf cart!

 

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[sandylee]

Hey Jasmine....The Butterfly Bush (Buddleia), also known as Summer Lilac is definitely a butterfly magnet!  I had several at our other house (we just moved) ...Am DEFINITELY planting some here at the new house this Spring.  I don't know of anyone who has actually grown them from seed....although I'm sure it's possible (I've heard they even are considered invasive in some climates, but not in the more northern zones.)  Best to try to find one as a plant, otherwise you may have to wait a couple years for it to bloom.

 

I had several different colors.....but this is the one that attracted all the butterrflies.  They are so beautiful and bloom sometimes into November!  Here's a Monarch being rather possessive over HIS flower!

 

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