ZEBRA SWALLOWTAIL- ALWAYS A STUNNING EYECATCHER

Hi, Today we have a tropical looking butterfly that is fairly common in summer near the rim of the Chesapeake Bay and Susquehanna River. The Zebra Swallowtail is always associated with Pawpaw Trees. Pawpaws are a very small tree usually only reaching 15 feet, and sometimes towering to almost twice that height. Pawpaws grow in abundance fairly near the bay and river, however I do not see them in numbers farther away than a mile or so from the bay or river. Zebras do wander inland to my home, about six miles plus from the Susquehanna River and fifteen above the Chesapeake Bay. Since I grow a lot of Cannas, Zebra Swallowtails almost always stop to nectar on these tropical flowers. Have a great day, Denis

This is Beefsteak weed the Zebra is nectaring on in this picture.

JUVENAL'S DUSKYWING ( odd sounding name, huh?)

Hi Folks, Today I have an interesting, however difficult to identify, butterfly that is only seen in springtime-mainly April and May. There are a half dozen of these similar duskywing types seen in my area and all can be somewhat difficult to distinguish apart. Thankfully some only fly in early spring and others later in summer, hence time of sightings is a big help in their identification. I have a county park nearby that has a lot of Serpentine Barrens that is mainly Oak/Pine scrub the habitat for this species. The Juvenal's Duskywing is usually found in early season and welcomed. Here are a few pics and have a good day, Denis

     Flower is an invasive plant called 'Garlic Mustard"

PEARL CRESCENT

Hi again, Here is a small early colorful butterfly, smaller than the ubiquitous Cabbage White.  The Pearl Crescent is fairly common and seen in almost all states east of the Rockies.There are many 'cousins' or similar species to the Pearl Crescent, making ID on some rather difficult. Asters are the food and caterpillar host, so usually not a difficult plant to find. In some good years I can find over a dozen in an acre on my farm. So long for now, Denis

Falcate Orangetip

Hi on this chilly, misting damp morning in spring, minus any live butterflies, but with images taken in warmer times. Our butterfly today is the Falcate Orangetip  that is seen mostly in April into early May, or a short window of opportunity for viewing in the wild. Usually it is still quite chilly in April and can be cloudy. This year I only had one good day of sightings for the Falcate with 7 total individuals seen; 6 males and only 1 female. Falcates are too often missed by the average person in the field, assuming them to be only a Cabbage White. Falcate Orangetip is a member of the Pieridae family as are Cabbage Whites.  Double check and look with binoculars for a better ID. Have a great day, Denis

     Male Falcate Orangetip nectaring on Field Chickweed

A female Falcate Orangetip nectaring on Garlic Mustard

ANOTHER EARLY SPRING BUTTERFLY

Hi, Today we have another early spring butterfly, the Eastern Tailed Blue that is usually confused with the Spring Azure. Both look blue while flying, and that is the way most are discovered. When the wings are clearly seen in the Eastern Tailed Blue one can see a pair of orange chevron shaped spots at the bottom end of the rear wings where a small tail extends outwards. Eastern Tailed Blues tend to like water, hence seen near; ponds, streams, puddles etc. Their food plants are legumes; clover, alfalfa etc, so therefore seen easily even in some clover filled yards. Here are a few pix for you to view. Have a great day, Denis  

                              First 3 images are males, fourth is a female and fifth is a flying view.

ORANGE SULPHUR IS VERY COMMON, HOWEVER QUITE GOOD LOOKING UP CLOSE.

Hi, This is a common butterfly closely related the the more common Cabbage White Butterfly. These Orange Sulphurs can be seen  in clover and alfalfa fields, mowed fields, vacant lots, meadows, road edges, yards or most anywhere. They are more common in the east, but can be seen anywhere in the USA. Some individuals are much duller and the opposite is true with very bright, especially fresh hatched ones. They should not be overlooked simply because they are similar to the Southern Dogface. If you are the least bit suspicious about any butterfly that looks like an Orange Sulphur, check it out thoroughly. Here are some pix of Orange Sulphurs, however I do not have any pix of the Dogface butterfly, Bye for now, Denis

 Above photo take with a Nikon 990, a 3 MP camera that came out in 2000

 Above and below photos taken with Nikon 8400, an 8 MP camera came out in 2004

 Below photo take with a Panasonic DMC FZ20, a 5 MP camera came out in 2004 also.

SPRING IS SLOWLY COMING THIS YEAR

Hello, We finally are seeing some new emergent butterflies, however quite slowly I might add. It seems that this particular spring is very late in coming with it being cold for the most part. I do not think that we have had an excess of rain, but more likely a slight lack of moisture lately. Another problem I see is degradation of habitat from utilities cutting everything to the ground. Power line cuts seem to usually be good areas to find butterflies and many are like Mars now. Where I usually get Spring Azures is a County Park and has had about 10 acres of everything  (brush, vines etc.) except the trees run through a tree chipper. Were the eggs and overwintering butterfly pupa chipped as well? Makes me wonder! Here are a couple Spring Azure pix, Denis