Brukner Butterfly Transit, July 28, 2013

This July 28 report is several weeks late.

 Yesterday, Phil sent me the photos he took on August 4.  I will try to post them later this week.

I have been so busy doing that I haven't been on the computer much.  I do have photos for blogs which I plan to post in the following days.

Now on to the photos.

Photo by Phil Shafer
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)  Wingspan 1.75-2.40 inches (4.4-6.1 cm)
This is the first Painted Lady photo I have posted this year.  It was elusive.  I didn't attempt to get a photo.  I'm glad Phil got this one.

Below is a Red-Spotted Purple.  I love the frilly edges that Phil captured.  The red spots are on the underside.

Photo by Phil Shafer
Red-Spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) Wingspan 3.0-4.0 inches (7.6-10.2 cm)

Phil also took some good photos of the Eastern Tailed-blue. (Everes comyntas) Wingspan .075-1.0 inches (1.9-2-5 cm)  The males and females are colored differently.

This is the female.

This is the male.

And this is the underside.

The identifying orange markings near the "tails" are visible in all three photos.  The thread-thin tails are there but hard to see.

Photo by Phil Shafer
Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) Wingspan 2.25-3.0 inches (5.7-7.6 cm)

In the field we thought this was a Comma but Ruth sent us a report a few days later.  Jim, another photographer on July 28, managed to get a good photo of the underwing.  This is a Question Mark.  There are thin silver markings on the back underwing.  A tiny dot added to a curved silvery "comma" makes all the difference.

Most of the Tiger Swallowtails were ragged.  They were nearing the end of their life span.

Photo by Phil Shafer 

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) Wingspan 3.5-5.5 inches (8.9-14.0 cm)

I did snap one photo of a fresh Tiger Swallowtail.  I wonder if it is one of the first of the second brood to emerge this summer.

Ruth sent us a summary of the Butterfly Transit for July.  One week was missed because the only day anyone could walk was rainy.  Nevertheless, we saw sixteen identified species in July.  There were also some species not identified. This is the first year we have walked the transit so we have no comparison numbers from other years.