What are these butterflies? I do NOT know my butterflies :)

16 years ago

I've seen a few butterflies lately, and at least three of them looked like 'painted ladies'. I can't remember what time of the year they usualy come through here in No. Nevada, but isn't it too early? And anyone know what these could be? I'll try to hang out in the yard with my camera tomorrow.

Also, the other day I saw a teeny tiny butterfly, basic orange and black/brown looking, very pretty, maybe 3/8 of an inch across. I thought it was a bug (non-pretty flying creature) at first, but it lighted several times right by me so I had a good look. Flew like a butterfly, not a 'buzzer' or a moth. We get a very small black butterfly every year, maybe an inch across, and this orange one was much smaller.

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Comments (10)

butterflymomok
16 years ago
Painted Ladies are out at this time of the year--according to Kaufman's guide, they are migrating north.

As to the little BF, there are several possiblities--could have been a copper, a hairstreak, a crescent, or a checkerspot. You could go to bugguide and look up these families and see if one matches what you saw.

If you are interested in BFs and IDing them, I recommend Kaufman's Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. I obtained my copy from Amazon. It's great as it shows the range and size of the BF.

Sandy
hidesert_windy
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you so much, Sandy, I will look for the BF book. As for the Painted Ladies, maybe they have just started coming through then, or their numbers are not too great this year. Definately not the huge numbers that came through several years ago. I have to admit those, and Mourning Cloaks (right name?) are the only BFs I've ever really paid enough attention to to know their names.. sort of :)

thnx again!

melissa
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butterflymomok
16 years ago
You're welcome. The Mourning Cloaks are my favorite, but I don't get to see them very often around here. I saw several earlier this spring, but haven't seen any lately. Sounds like you are in a good area to see BFs. Be careful, you will get bit by the BF bug!

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onafixedincome
16 years ago
If it helps, I'm about the same latitude as you...and I've seen, in the last week, at least two painted ladies. No skippers yet, but that little guy might just be one for you. :)
hidesert_windy
Original Author
16 years ago
We used to get Mourning Cloaks 'nesting' in our popular tree in the back yard, and in the next door neighbor's poplar tree. Every year. Several 'nests' in each of the two trees. The black fuzzy Cats would be every where once they hatched. We had to take our poplar out but the neighbor's is still there and huge now, but no nests for quite a few years, over ten, and I rarely see any Mourning Cloaks any more.
hidesert_windy
Original Author
16 years ago
OK, our tree was not very 'popular', that's why we took it out. It was a POPLAR, and it had little baby trees coming up all over the yard plus we wanted to put in a pool and a pond. We do have about 40+ other trees so I hope I'm not 'unpopular' by cutting one down :(

melissa
emmayct
16 years ago
Melissa,
You're in Northern Nevada, right. Next thursday, I'm leaving for a wedding in Boulder City, Nev.

I'm hoping to see a few butterflies...Since it's really too early to see many here in CT yet.

Maryann in CT
onafixedincome
16 years ago
As they get older, cottonwoods and poplars start doing downright uncivilized things...like mine, dropping widowmaker-size branches, even! Stopping up the AC was a side 'benefit'.

So down it came and while I miss it, I am loving the decreased mess and bother. Butterflies benefited too; more sun = more flowers! :)
ladobe
16 years ago
hidesert_windy -

FWIW, the V.cardui "blew" through southern Nevada a month ago. And there was not very many of them down here, in fact so light that they were almost missed. Normal years the move north is usually at least heavy enough that even a person not interested in leps will notice them. Not this year. With all the crazy cold/hot/cold and very windy weather we've had this year I'd bet a lot of the early leps have their schedules out of whack. So I don't know if that was the migration or not. If so many individuals were probably killed by the freak cold fronts and storms. What you saw could have blown into your area, could have been over wintered pupa that emerged someplace near your area or even over wintered adults right from your area.

Of interest maybe... the migrations appear to be cyclic and heavier than normal every few years. But since I started seriously studying leps in 1964, the heaviest spring migration of V. cardui I have ever seen was in about 1989-90-91 while living in northern Utah. Can't remember for sure which year and my logs are all packed in storage. But it was so heavy that the cardui literally covered any surface they could hang onto wing tip to wing tip, with more hovering and trying to find a place to land. The ground, all plants, buildings... everything moved with them. It wasn't localized either. I drove out onto the west desert all the way to the Nevada border on back roads to photograph them that weekend, and never found a place they were not just as thick. You couldn't even get out of your vehicle without stepping on them. The following week I left Utah on a business trip that took me to Boise, then Twin Falls, Sun Valley and Idaho Falls before making a loop through western Montana from Butte to Missoula, Kalispell, Great Falls and back down to Bozeman, then to Jackson Wyoming before returning home. They were just as thick everywhere I went along that trip and were actually a driving hazard. The roads everywhere were littered with uncountable numbers of them that had been killed by vehicles. No doubt I was kind of following the migration north much of that trip, even if it was scheduled by my secretary, but it was still quite a sight. LOL

L.
sonkysst
16 years ago
The link below has a butterfly and moth photo gallery. I recommend you do the map search first.

Here is a link that might be useful: Butterfly and Moth ID (also provides photos of all stages)