We will run out of photos in two days, so I implore readers to send in their good wildlife photos. Thank you!
Today, though, it being a Sunday, we have our regular contribution by John Avise, who is doing a series on North American butterflies. His captions and IDs are indented, and you can click on the photos to enlarge them.
Butterflies in North America, Part 11
This week continues my many-part series on butterflies that I’ve photographed in North America. I’m continuing to go down my list of species in alphabetical order by common name. Today it’s more “M’s”.
Meadow Fritillary (Boloria bellona), topwing:
Meadow Fritillary, underwing:
Milbert’s Tortoiseshell (Aglasis milberti), topwing:
Milbert’s Tortoiseshell, underwing:
Monarch (Danaus plexippus), male:
Monarch, female:
Monarch, underwing:
Monarch, larva:
Monarch, chrysalis:
Mormon Metalmark (Apodemia mormo):
Mountain Mahogany Hairstreak (Satyrium tetra), male:
Mournful Duskywing (Erynnis tristis), topwing:
Mournful Duskywing, underwing:
Thank you. Lovely shots. How do you get so close without them flying away?
I use a 300 mm lens on my Canon EOS camera. This allows me to take close-up photos while standing about 6 feet away from my butterfly subjects.
Splendid
I see Monarchs here near Pittsburgh, and I leave plenty of milkweed for them, and I watched one laying eggs on one, but I never see larvae.
Otherwise, I miss Stephen Barnard’s pix. What happened to him?
Most larvae do get picked off. Although toxic, they still have predators and parasites.
I’ve suspected that the aphids that are common on milkweed could also be a problem since the aphids attract ants. The species of milkweed also can make a difference since caterpillars do not do well on all species of host plant. I checked and found that Swamp Milkweed aka Rose Milkweed (A. incarnata and Common Milkweed (A. syriaca) are best for the larvae.
Beautiful. Great to see our beloved Monarch.
Love the photos! The butterflies and the composition sitting on the flowers.
Thanks!
Always a treat. And I’d be thrilled beyond measure to even see a Milbert’s’ Tortoiseshell.
Excellent set. 🦋🦋🦋