I checked all of the butterflies listed for my state and can't find either of these. They were both on my Privet blooms today. I couldn't get this one to turn the right way for a good shot before it flew away. The closes I could come in trying to ID it was Red Admiral but I don't see a red band a the back of the wing, although that may be due to the bad angle in the photo.
Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Another (even worse) view (but the best I could get).
This is a picture of the other butterfly that was on the same shrub.
The first one is a Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/usa/224.htm
and the second one looks like a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
http://www.fjexpeditions.com/desert/florafauna/fauna/vanessa_cardui_2.jpg
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/usa/225.htm
Cool! THANKS!
On the usgs.gov site my state is the only one that has no sitings, confirmed or otherwise, for either of these butterflies. But they're here now!
I will second kennedyh's ID's.
Thanks, hill. I'm excited to have these 2 butterflies in my yard. Neither is "supposed" to be here, but, thankfully, they don't know it. I haven't seen the Red Admiral again since that day, but the Painted Lady has spent every day frolicing in my garden where I have taken countless, treasured photos of her antics.
How neat for you! We get excited here when a California Sister shows up because Central Texas is on the extreme eastern periphery of it's range.
California Sister pics:
Underside of wings--
http://www.insects.org/entophiles/lepidoptera/lepi_005.html
Top of wings--
http://greennature.com/article1394.html
Have you reported your butterfly sightings to the appropriate agency so they can officially record them?
