Yesterday I shared some of the butterfly photos I’ve taken in the last week. Today I’ve got a few more, including some of visitors I’ve yet to identify.
This Skipper (I think) butterfly seemed a bit camera shy. I had a hard time getting it to sit still for a portrait!
Another skipper (exact species unknown) was sharing a Tithonia blossom with a much bigger Painted Lady. I guess there was plenty of nectar for both of them.
But not all the butterfly action is taking place in the Butterfly Garden. The Slope Garden has its share of visitors too. One kind of butterfly has been hanging out there a lot lately.
I believe this is a Pearly Crescentspot, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it. It seems to really like the yellow daisies. The photo below shows another view with its wings folded.
The daisies aren’t the only flowers these little beauties enjoy. I saw them on the Heaven’s Gate Coreopsis too.
One visitor was a real mystery for a while. I kept seeing something flitting around the garden. It was smaller than a hummingbird, but just as fast. I finally got it to sit long enough to get a photo of it.
I believe this some kind of Clearwing Moth. The body is colored much like a bumblebee, with yellow and black ‘fur’. It is very fond of the Tithonia blossoms. Its wings seem to be constantly in motion. In the photo below they are a blur.
The next photos I’ll share today feature our current Mystery Guest. I cropped the photos to feature the butterfly, or whatever it is. The identifying feature for me so far is the white blotch on the wings. It’s a little smaller than most Sulphurs, perhaps a little over an inch long.
So far I have been unable to photograph it with its wings unfolded. Today, I haven’t even been able to spot it in the gardens. But it was there yesterday and the day before, so I figure it will be back. Perhaps it will be familiar to someone out there! And maybe I’ll be able to get more photos of it.
Mystery Guest on Zinnia
That’s just a sampling of the butterflies and other winged wonders that are visiting our gardens this August. I’ll close with another photo of one of my favorite visitors. It’s a swallowtail, sitting on one of the towering Tithonia blossoms.
I hope you have enjoyed the photos!