Sunday, July 3, 2016

Santa Ana, 7/3/16

The temperature was forecast to hit 100 today and all of next week so I figured I had better visit Santa Ana NWR before it fries.  Despite the heat of the past week it still looks good but some things like frog fruit are starting to wither.  Best butterflies once again goes to Blue-eyed Sailor.  This one was hanging around a blooming coma (photographed on an elm) and a half hour later and fifty yards away I found the same one again or maybe another.


Saw my first Silver Emperors for this year.  1 and 3/4 of them.



Benton Basham found the nation's first East-Mexican White Skipper at Santa Ana back in 2004.  Lately it's not such a big deal.  Saw two today.


Four Banded Peacocks were nice.  First photo is on P mode at about f 8 while the second is on A mode at f 20.  The depth of field difference is noticeable but I really need a tripod when it's closed down.  I don't know why the colors came out so different.  The first is more accurate.



Common Mestras have been abundant lately.  One was ovipositing on noseburn.  Ouch!




Fawn-spotted and Clouded Skippers for comparison.



And a Soldier for this Fourth of July weekend.


  • Giant Swallowtail 1
  • Great Southern White 1
  • Cloudless Sulphur 1
  • Large Orange Sulphur 40
  • Lyside Sulphur 3
  • Little Yellow 2
  • Mimosa Yellow 6
  • Dusky-blue Groundstreak 3
  • Clytie Ministreak 2
  • Reakirt's Blue 1
  • Rounded Metalmark 15
  • Red-bordered Metalmark 6
  • American Snout 1000
  • Gulf Fritillary 5
  • Variegated Fritillary 1
  • Bordered Patch 25
  • Crimson Patch 2
  • Texan Crescent 5
  • Pale-banded Crescent 20
  • Phaon Crescent 5
  • Pearl Crescent 2
  • Common Buckeye 2
  • White Peacock 50
  • Banded Peacock 4
  • Mexican Bluewing 5
  • Blue-eyed Sailor 1
  • Common Mestra 50
  • Tropical Leafwing 4
  • Tawny Emperor 15
  • Silver Emperor 2
  • Queen 2
  • Soldier 1
  • Brown Longtail 3
  • Mazans Scallopwing 2
  • Sickle-winged Skipper 20
  • Tropical Checkered-Skipper 6
  • Laviana White-Skipper 30
  • Turk's-cap White-Skipper 1
  • Fawn-spotted Skipper 8
  • Clouded Skipper 15
  • Whirlabout 6
  • Southern Broken-Dash 2
  • Eufala Skipper 1
  • East Mexican White-Skipper 2