A Lone November Butterfly

Flitting along the trail Saturday was this lone butterfly---like a flying slice of butter, so out of the ordinary for November.

It isn't likely that it will find a friend this late in the season. It was healthy and could fly, so perhaps it will migrate to a warmer clime.

Little Skippers

Hundreds of skipper butterflies are testing new wings after a recent coming out in the marsh. They're easier to photograph when they are new or early in the cool of the morning.

Mourning Cloak

Looking like a piece of dappled sunlight fallen from the sky, this Mourning Cloak was flitting among the trees at the Indiana Dunes.

The year's abundant wildflowers have seemingly produced an abundance of butterflies that are not to be missed.

Red Admirals

There has been a massive butterfly hatch in northern Indiana of Red Admirals. Hundreds are fluttering through the woods among the wildflowers and flowering bushes. Every step you take brings up more and more butterflies. Truly magnificent!  

Wednesday Warm Up---Creating the Down of the Thistle

A butterfly couple from the archives creating thistle down in an August field.

Beware!

Along the trail on Saturday I spotted this creature. Or is it a creature?

At first I thought, yea, it's a caterpillar.

Then it let lose with a big poop and I knew it was a caterpillar.

Then it started oozing some green gooey stuff dripping from the lower end and I wasn't too sure I wasn't a fool thinking a bit of bird doo was a caterpillar.  

So I picked up a stick and poked it. And this is what it did:

Notice that red forked tongue poking out at me. It's a warning that I'm glad I heeded. The internet is replete with stories of this particular caterpillar stinging innocent people who apparently are sure enough the caterpillar is not a piece of bird doo they touch it.

This ugly guy will be going through metamorphosis to become a beautiful Giant Swallowtail Butterfly; truly an ugly duckling. 

Buckeye's not Choosy

Some butterflies are pretty particular about host plants. Buckeye Butterflies are not that choosy, which may be the reason that, despite the wickedly wild and hot weather we've had this year, there seems to be a record number of these butterflies.

Good to the Last Leaf

This caterpillar is running out of leaf on this milkweed plant. I could almost hear the chomping as I got the photo.

Stripes

Delightfully striped, this Monarch Caterpillar eats as fast as he can on the milkweed plant that will protect him against predators all his life.

I haven't seen many of these guys this year, even though milkweed is growing in abundance. But then this has been a crazy year, weather wise, and everything is bound to be effected.

Butterflies of fall

Angled-winged butterflies are distinctive because they look like fallen leaves. In fact, they will often perch on fallen leaves, unlike this one who has taken a liking to my raincoat.

These butterflies love fruit and, according to my Audubon Field Guide, they become intoxicated from rotten fruit.

I  hope that isn't a statement about the condition of my raincoat.

Buckeye Butterfly

Now is the time of the Buckeye Butterflies, flittering among the late summer into fall wildflowers.

The Buckeye is not a choosy host plant egg layer. Among its many choices is Vervain. Buckeyes don't winter this far north and, so, will be migrating south in a couple of months.  

Crescentspot

With summer moving towards fall and the coming of the asters and thistles, you are bound to see a Crescentspot or two flitting along your hiking trail.

These are curious little fellows that will pop out for a better look at you.    

Hibernating Butterflies

Adult Mourning Cloaks spend the winter hibernating. It's difficult to think of such a delicate looking creature surviving a winter day like this one with minus zero temperatures and over two feet of snow on the ground.

Mourning Cloaks depend on trees, mostly willows, and survive on tree sap. I found this one fluttering around on the forest floor one June day.

Pearly Crescentspot

Some butterflies are easier than others to photograph. They seem to enjoy posing for pictures, patiently opening and closing their wings.

The Pearly Crescentspot is a ham. They are numerous this time of year and like to lay their eggs on Asters.

This little guy was fluttering over the fields of wildflowers at Coffee Creek one sweltering morning this week but stopped to investigate me and the dogs. He posed patiently for this photo.

     

Crescentspot confusion

Being recently and rather late in life a naturalist, I have been amazed at the tiny, imperceptible differences that go into classifying butterflies. Most of the characteristics can only be determined by killing a specimen; which to me as a naturalist sort of defeats the purpose. So I take my picture and note the general area where the specimen photograph was taken and hope that I can make some sort of identification.

Characteristics, though seemingly trivial, prove to be important in most cases. For example, one species darker below may have a completely different host plant from a species that is much paler below. Unfortunately, the picture with this post is not of the "below" view. Therefore, I cannot tell you if this is a Pearly Crescentspot or a Painted Cresentspot with any degree of accuracy.  I did, however photograph it the two days ago in Indiana, so chances are pretty good that it is not the Painted variety as it is found mainly Nebraska and west.

Crescentspots as a group have a diverse group of host plants; asters, goldenrod, thistle, and sunflower. They are generally a butterfly of grasslands and open fields.

No butterflies were injured or harassed in the making of this post.