mcash70 said:Thanks Ann, I guess we will have to wait and see, I looked at so many photos I was going cross eyed, I had 2 books from the library on butterflies of BC and I looked on line and not all of the photos of the Edith's and the Anician looked the same. And of course the butterfly didn't cooperate and open it's wings fully before it flew off.

So typical right? You only get one view - open winged or closed. There are "tons" of both of them on Google images but the problem there is you don't know who really knew their stuff when ID'ing them so you might be looking at anything. I also, as I'm sure you did, found there are sub species such as the Bay and the Quino. Very confusing and no photos. I'm glad you have the books b/c there is precious little online to try to determine from. BAMONA will figure it out & you don't have to go cross eyed any longer.

Thanks Jim. The Checkerspots are really lovely, I had seen them on several occasions this summer but they always just fluttered by, I was happy that this one stopped briefly to check out the Marigolds.

Ann, yes all the sub species are a real problem, just too many, it will be interesting to see what BAMONA confirms it as.

Margaret, let us know what BAMONA says!! A very interesting mystery, to be sure!

Woke up this morning to find chrysalis #1 completed and the caterpillar in the J position had also become a chrysalis!


There are a couple tiny white dots on the chrysalises. Is that normal? (worried caterpillar Mom here...)

Okay Robin, take a deep breath. Take a couple, actually. Everything looks fine. Just cross your fingers that no one is parasatized and know that you did the best you could. So far, so good! Also, I'm glad someone else can hear caterpillars munching. My dad still looks at me like I'm crazy or like I have superpowers.

I want to know about the Checkerspot, too! We don't have any down here where I live but I have seen the Silvery in WV.

Oh, my Long-Tailed Skipper did make a successful chrysalis while I was asleep. I'll take photos of it later when I feed the rest of the cats. Right now, I gotta feed Melanie!

Thanks Melanie. Fingers crossed.
Yes they can be quite noisy eaters!

all I could ever hear eat were Nightcrawlers ,, leaves it was

Then There I was , sunbathing , beautiful 90 degree day , and then , wow , I got mugged Darn Cannibals

I am seeing several Butterflies this afternoon , bunches of different , photo's however are another story .
Got this Swallowtail .
Looks Black Swallowtail , but no White on the Body , and the dots , more of them are red orange ,


I am not to sure But this could be the Black swallowtail , and yesterday's could of been a Spicebush , the white on the Body before and the lack of it on this photo , Not always easy to distinguish an ID ,

This is my first live-action shot of a butterfly; is it a Skipper? I don't know.
The plant is an Callerya reticulata/Evergreen Wisteria (not native)

Fell behind but getting caught up!

Everyone's photos are beautiful!

Robin that one of in the midst of making its chrysalis is outstanding!!

Just saw a monarch thru the window flying by.

Greene That is an excellent photo

gets like eating potato chips here we go Monarch Butterflies 4 or 5 this afternoon and evening

There are three in this photo to the right behind a stem , just to the top of and right of the 4x4 post , lower front center , and just up to the left ,
Females now ?

Greene, I think that might be a long tailed skipper... since it looks to have a long tail but I'm just guessing. The markings look similar.. Melanie will know for sure. ---Wisteria is so pretty! Too bad I'm scared to try growing the native kind, since it's known to be quite agressive. Is your non-native one?

Wonderful with all the Monarchs Jim!

Greene, your butterfly is a Long-tailed Skipper. I love that Wisteria, beautiful color.

Thanks, I thought it must be some kind of Skipper - I'm new at this butterfly-watching.

It took 3 years to identify the Evergreen Wisteria (which is not a Wisteria, nor is it always evergreen ) that I purchased brand new for $1 - even the nursery had no clue what it was; I plan to propagate it to share. Grows slowly at first and then wham! You'll need a strong support for this vine; synonym (or possibly former name?) is Millettia reticulata.

You sure got a bargain for a buck there Greene, wish they grew here.

That "wisteria" is stunning Greene & your photo is too. I agree it's a long tailed skipper. I can see the turquoise on it's head.

About an hour before sunset Two Monarch that looked different from earlier , as they were still smaller , Their wings were wrinkled at the top still from eclose ,
From now until next week I should see that ,if and when I watch ,
I am wondering how many I am missing in the Mornings , I am still happy about seeing so many , love them flittering by as I walk around the garden ,
As few as 7 as many as 12 today I may have seen
I love having them back ...

Thanks everyone for answering Greene. That is a Long-Tailed Skipper.

Jim, I almost think you might have a dark-form female Tiger there. Maybe I'm imagining stripes there in the wings, but that's my best guess.

I'm off to sleep now - pictures tomorrow!

I was thinking that also Melanie , Usually that form of the Eastern shows yellow shading in the sun at the top third or maybe half of the upper wings , This one was really dark , I have rarely seen that .





Be back in a while with today's Monarch

Car says 95 , thermometer on the back post in the shade says 93 I will look again this evening there were 4 or 5 feeding and flying around