Rio Grande Valley Butterflies: Common Bluevent, Ruddy Hairstreak, 11/9/14

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Common Bluevent, Ruddy Hairstreak, 11/9/14

As I mentioned in my last post, a Common Bluevent Anastrus sempiternus was photgraphed yesterday and misidentified as a Brown-banded Skipper. But sharp eyed Mark Salvato thought something was wrong and refound the bug and properly identified it. It was gone by the time I got there yesterday. But as I was sitting at the computer this morning, waiting for things to warm up after a cool night, I got the call from Holly that the Common Bluevent had reappeared. And this time I got there in time to see the bug. Wow! It has a blue vent!

Afterwards I ran over to the National Butterfly Center to see what might be flying and I got my second life butterfly of the day, a Ruddy Hairstreak Electrostrymon hugon. This is one I had been wanting for a long time and luckily I got a male. The orange upper surface of the wing is visible though some of the tears and this separates it form some other similar species.