Readers’ wildlife photos

March 16, 2025 • 8:35 am

Send in your photos, please!

It’s Sunday, so John Avise is back with a selection of North American butterfly photos. John’s captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge your photos by clicking on them.

This week continues my 18-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.

Polydamus Swallowtail (Battus polydamas), upperwing:

Polydamus Swallowtail, underwing:

Propertius Duskywing (Erynnis propertius):

Purplish Copper (Lycaena helloides), female upperwing:

Purplish Copper, female underwing:

Queen (Danaus gilippus), male upperwing:

Queen, male underwing:

Queen, female upperwing;

Queen, female underwing;

Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis), upperwing:

Question Mark, underwing;

Question Mark, another specimen underwing:

Question Mark, another specimen upperwing:

11 thoughts on “Readers’ wildlife photos”

  1. [ choir singing ]

    It was the Church of Birds, now it’s the Church of … Butterflies? Lepidoptera?… or maybe a chapel? A good name might be somewhere..

    “Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)”

    I love that Latin binomial – now I have to look up the origin of the question mark!… I mean, ..? 😁

  2. Another fine set! I’ve never heard of the swallowtail species, and that is great!

  4. Terrific photos! The Question Mark with those elegantly scalloped wing edges is as dashing and enigmatic as its name suggests.

  5. Great photos, thanks John! I especially like seeing the Queen Butterflies, which I’ve never seen in nature.

  8. Isn’t it something how much the “Question Mark, another specimen underwing” resembles a leaf when you enlarge it? Nature really is amazing. I love the photo of the Purplish Copper, female upperwing.

  11. Male Queens? Oh, my! Obviously proof that sex isn’t binary in other species, phyla, etc.

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