Anglewing Butterfly

Anglewings are all over the Indiana woodlands this time of year and they will pause for a picture better than most butterflies.

I'm thinking that this is probably a Question Mark, although I can't really be sure unless I harass the butterfly and capture it to examine it more closely. I was satisfied with just the picture. (I'll leave it to an expert to identify by the picture and make this truly  a "question mark" for me.)

My Audubon guide states that the butterflies can get intoxicated from drinking fermented fruit. Next we'll be hearing about butterfly AA (BAA.)

This is another butterfly that uses those dreaded nettles, in addition to elm and hackberry, as a host plant.   

Red Admiral

Have you ever walked through a field of stinging nettles? I have. I consider it part of my naturalist's induction. You aren't truly initiated until your legs are burning so intensely that you wish you could take something and scrape your skin off. I tried everything to get rid of the pain. There isn't much you can do. Vinegar worked somewhat.

Ever since that stinging nettle evening I have wanted to not only avoid the plant but felt that wiping them off of the planet would be a great thing.

Enter the Red Admiral butterfly that calls the nettle home. This butterfly has been flittering through Indiana fields and woods for a couple of weeks.  I've seen it up at the dunes and over by the Kankankee river. They migrate south in the winter. The Red Admiral is one of my favorites because of its friendly ways of  leading the way down the trail.

sources: "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Butterflies"