Butterflies

Last Sunday I joined Roger and another butterfly counter, Jeff, at Leonard Preserve in Manchester.  It has been years, it seems, that I last joined Roger on a NABA count and have become terribly out of practice with butterfly identification.  I restored a little of my skill last Sunday. It was hot and the pre-eclipse sun was very bright making it a challenge for photos.     

Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) 

Eastern-tailed Blue (Cupido comyntas)

Common Ringlet (Coenonympha tullia)

American Copper (Lycaena phlaeas)

Above:  Of the genus Misumena, the flower crab spiders, this could be Goldenrod crab spider (Misumena vatia).  Unfortunately, my photo is horrible - as always when it's something new or special.  I love photographing orb weaver spiders, but  I can't recall ever having seen a crab spider of any kind.  It's one of the things that make this kind of outing so full of possibility.

Easter Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) - fairly fresh with tails intact but with chunks out of left and right wings.

Leonard's Skipper (Hesperia leonardus) - a first for me.  We saw several around a hillside meadow covered with rough blazing star (Liatris aspera).  Roger commented that Leonard's skippers love purple flowers. 

Above and below:  Another new butterfly for me, Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis) - we saw several along a couple of wooded trails. The thing is, I may have seen this butterfly before but just dismissed it as another Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos) of which we also saw several.  I'll know the difference next time and take a closer look.

I left the count at 1:00 pm, but Roger and Jeff soldiered on and may have found some other species.  One of Roger's targets was Common Roadside-skipper (Amblyscirtes vialis).  I don't know if they found one.