Even here in Florida, butterfly populations can really vary. I don't know what's going on up north, but remember nature works in cycles so don't give up just because you had a bad year.

It's been butterfly quiet here too. But, like Melanie said, I have noticed cycles with different butterflies and everything else really, even the weather comes and goes in cycles.

My butterfly sighting for the day so I had to follow it around for awhile.





Until I spotted someone run across my path. Looks like it might be a pregnant female as fat as that belly is. *Had to edit this post to say what a dumb comment - lizards lay eggs! hahahaha!

I was checking MonarchWatch website and found this blog dated yesterday . I was hoping to not have to do this again this year , but it seems it may be more important than last ... The first kits wont be released for another 2 weeks . Each female will have the potential to lay approx. 400 eggs given it survives with a meager 5% to 8% surviving to reproduce .

http://monarchwatch.org/blog/2...



http://www.learner.org/jnorth/...

Christine, that butterfly is gorgeous!! Is it a Red Spotted Purple?

Yes, Josephine it is a Red Spotted Purple. Another one showed up and they both flew off.

Ahh...Red-Spotted Purples.

I had a butterfly in my yard that I have never ever seen before. I tried to get a picture of it but it just wouldn't land for any length of time. Maybe someone here can ID it for me. It was small, about the size of a white cabbage moth butterfly and it was black with white spots on it. It was very unusual. I am positive it was a butterfly and not a moth.

A White Admiral , Maybe ?

Sounds like a good guess, Jim.

Would anyone happen to have a picture of one. I went through tons of pictures last night and couldn't find anything that looked like it. I will try and google it to see if I can find a pic. Thanks.

Ok, I googled it and saw a picture of a white admiral and it doesn't match what I saw. The butterfly I saw had more rounded wings and about 3 or 4 round spots, like eyes, on each wing, no white wing bands like this white admiral has.

This is very unusual, but it says here that the Red Spotted Purple and the White Admiral hybridize, I had never heard of it till lately.
However I think yours was th Red Spotted Purple form.

Sorry about the double post.

This is very unusual, but it says here that the Red Spotted Purple and the White Admiral hybridize, I had never heard of it till lately.
However I think yours was th Red Spotted Purple form. http://www.butterfliesandmoths...

Gosh, I sure wish I could have gotten a picture of it. It was trying to nectar on my daylilies. It was so fast though that it wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a pic. I hope I see it again.

Cindy, your description reminds me of this moth which does look much like a butterfly and maybe at a quick glance you thought that's what it was?

http://bugguide.net/node/view/...

A few more possibilities . are an escaped from a butterfly House
A red Admiral without stripes , or the white without stripes , it happens rarely .
About 2003 I saw a large butterfly here that looked like an olive wing ,, Had to be a escaped from a display ,
Like the two Giants Last week , odd season ,

wildflowers said:Cindy, your description reminds me of this moth which does look much like a butterfly and maybe at a quick glance you thought that's what it was?

http://bugguide.net/node/view/...

I was thinking that too, they do go to flowers during the day like a butterfly. Also see this section (http://bugguide.net/node/view/...) on that page which lists similar looking species, it might be one of them. If you click the "data" sections on those pages it will show you what states have sightings posted for them.

Clouded Sulphur on the blue fortune , it wasn't shy at all actual flew closer to the camera at one point

Very nice, Kurt! I saw a pale form of a female Orange-Barred Sulphur go flying by today and it was so beautiful. And then I thought about how long it has been since I got a photo of a Sulphur. Besides that Sleepy Orange last month, it's been a while. So your photos are very timely! And very rare to get even a peek of the top side of the wings!

Beautiful Sulfur Kurt, they sure are hard to photograph, but you did a great job.