Melanie's Vacation Photos

Well, I finally pulled myself away from my Nintendo DS and decided to post my pictures from WV. It was so hot and we were without power for nearly four days so I didn't do much butterfly chasing. Therefore, you'll see that most of the pictures are taken on a butterfly bush. It belongs to Grandma's neighbor who says it is taking over that end of her trailer. Just a reminder they can be invasive in some areas so plant with care. I know it's tempting because the butterflies really do love them.

To start, here's an American Lady. Notice the two round spots on the underside of the wing.

A skipper that was being most cooperative.

I believe this is a Carolina Satyr. I haven't seen these guys in a while but then I haven't gone hiking in a while either.

A Cloudless Sulphur; I didn't see nearly as many of these as I did earlier in the spring when I visited last year. Of course, Grandma's guy mowed the garden area so I didn't have a good field of clover for them to lay eggs on.

A Painted Lady; notice it has four circles on the underside.

Here's another good picture of the American Lady so you can see the difference.

Here's an Eastern Tailed Blue actually opening its wings to sun itself!

I believe this is a Great Spangled Fritillary. Can't you tell them by the light patch between the white spots? We don't get these in Florida so I'm always excited to see one.

One of the few shots I got of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Not as many of them this year, but then again, I went later in the year so I think I missed the first brood. Last year there were swarms of them!

Another common butterfly that I rarely see in Florida - the Silver Spotted Skipper. I have their host plant, false indigo, and I had two caterpillars on it a few years ago but I haven't seen any since. I still have hope, though.

A pretty beat-up looking Pipevine ST. I wish I could find their native host plant, Virginia Snakeroot. I just want to see it in the wild so I can identify it.

While I was taking a picture of this Red Spotted Purple another one flew by me.

A Cabbage White - I don't see these much in Florida which I suppose is a good thing seeing as how they are considered invasive. In fact, they're outperforming the West Virginia White which has now become endangered.

The weatherman said it was time to put out the hummingbird feeders and he was right. One night while the power was out we sat on the front porch and counted five hummingbirds. They're kind of crazy and fun to watch.

And finally, here's one where you can see the Ruby Throat of the hummingbird. Hope you all enjoyed the pics!

Melanie

Wonderful photos, thank you Melanie for sharing so much helpful information about the butterflies, their characteristics, and related hostplants besides the lovely pictures.
Kim

Thanks for sharing your nature adventure with us.

You're both very welcome! You know I enjoy it!

Melanie