It was another fun filled warm December day at the National Butterfly Center. Terry Mortier found another Blue-eyed Sailor in the sunken garden. After seeing several this fall we didn't exactly run over to photograph it. Eventually I got there and Terry pointed it out. After a few frustrating minutes I finally got a decent shot and recognized something was wrong. The two eye's were not surrounded by white. And it had an extra band on top Four-spotted Sailor! This is actually a more uncomon species than the Blue-eyed which can breed locally. I've seen a few through the years but it was a lifer for Terry and several others.
Nearby a Purple-washed Skipper was actually purple washed.
Here's a good looking female Common Mellana
Both male and female Silver Emperors.
It's hard to turn down a Malachite.
Several of us spend a good deal of time trying to get a decent shot of a nectaring male Orange-barred Sulphur. We wanted a good dorsal flight shot. But the butterfly, though right in front of us on a Mexican Olive, would only land for a second at a time. So I would shoot in burst mode hoping for an open winged photo. But, as the other day with the Red Rim, I was having trouple getting the color right. So I fiddled with the settings and eventually I got a keeper.
Good day with 69 species.
- Pipevine Swallowtail 2
- Checkered White 4
- Great Southern White 1
- Giant White 6
- Orange Sulphur 1
- Southern Dogface 3
- Cloudless Sulphur 1
- Orange-barred Sulphur 2
- Large Orange Sulphur 12
- Lyside Sulphur 8
- Tailed Orange 2
- Little Yellow 5
- Dainty Sulphur 1
- Marius Hairstreak 1
- Silver-banded Hairstreak 3
- Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 3
- Lantana Scrub-Hairstreak 2
- Dusky-blue Groundstreak 2
- Clytie Ministreak 1
- Western Pygmy-Blue 1
- Cassius Blue 3
- Ceraunus Blue 12
- Reakirt's Blue 2
- Fatal Metalmark 1
- Red-bordered Pixie 2
- Curve-winged Metalmark 1
- American Snout 40
- Gulf Fritillary 6
- Zebra Heliconian 6
- Mexican Fritillary 1
- Bordered Patch 2
- Texan Crescent 8
- Pale-banded Crescent 2
- Phaon Crescent 12
- American Lady 2
- Painted Lady 1
- Red Admiral 6
- Common Buckeye 2
- White Peacock 2
- Malachite 2
- Band-celled Sister 1
- Common Mestra 2
- Guatemalan Cracker 1
- Tropical Leafwing 6
- Empress Leilia 4
- Tawny Emperor 5
- Pavon Emperor 2
- Silver Emperor 2
- Monarch 6
- Queen 25
- Soldier 2
- White-striped Longtail 2
- Brown Longtail 3
- Two-barred Flasher 1
- Potrillo Skipper 2
- White Checkered-Skipper 8
- Tropical Checkered-Skipper 2
- Laviana White-Skipper 4
- Clouded Skipper 10
- Southern Skipperling 1
- Fiery Skipper 2
- Whirlabout 2
- Sachem 1
- Common Mellana 2
- Eufala Skipper 2
- Purple-washed Skipper 5
- Four-spotted Sailor 1
- Mexican Crescent 2
