Wordless Wednesday: Caught in Flight

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Monarch Butterfly Laying an Egg on Milkweed

Danaus plexippus

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Wordless Wednesday: Female Eastern Black Swallowtail in Flight

Papilio polyxenes

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My Dreamy Duskywing Contribution to BAMONA

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA) is an important site for me because it helps me identify the butterflies and moths that I photograph. Sometimes I can narrow a butterfly or moth identification only to the correct genus and this site can help me identify which species. By comparing photographs from other contributors in Vermont and reading about when the species was sighted, you can narrow down your choices for identification.

Many times a species is known to be in an area but simply has not been reported to the site. This is what happened to me when I photographed a new (for me) brown butterfly in May. For various reasons (most of which were ignorance), I thought I had photographed a moth. But the experts at bugguide.net told me this was a spread-wing skipper called the Dreamy Duskywing. I then went to the BAMONA page for this duskywing and found that there were no dreamy duskywing sightings ever reported for Orleans County in Vermont. (Interestingly, there was another Vermont dreamy duskywing reported in Windham County within a week of mine.) This was what I had been waiting for! I always want to submit a sighting to BAMONA, but I always photograph butterflies that have already  been reported for Orleans County. I submitted my photograph and the details of the sighting and waited for official verification of the identification.

Verification has arrived, and I am now a true contributor to BAMONA! Scroll about one-third of the way down this page, then click the “Sightings Table” tab, and there I am! The details of my sighting can be seen if you click “Details” in the right-hand column. My sighting record is #538083 and I am proud. I hope to report more sightings in the future.

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Some Random Shots of Summer

One of our day lilies

I am fascinated by the stigma

A geometer moth

Another, different, brown geometer moth

Bumblebee on red clover

Five-toed raccoon track and tiny, round Zorro the Cat
tracks in the mud after a flash flood.

Dwarf zinnia that Ironman successfully planted

They bloomed continuously until the first heavy frost in September.

A Carolina grasshopper

Yellow woolly bear caterpillar

An unidentified warbler

Question Mark Butterfly

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Lost Larvae

As I match larvae and moths / butterflies, I have photographs of seven species for which I cannot find photographs of the larvae on the Internet. Perhaps one of you knows where a photo exists and could leave a comment and let me know. Thank you!

Name	My Photo
White-spotted Sable Moth (Anania funebris)
Large Maple Spanworm Moth (Prochoerodes lineola)
Common Ringlet Butterfly (Coenonympha tullia)
Bristly Cutworm Moth (Lacinipolia renigera)
Modest Sphinx Moth (Pachysphinx modesta)
Unmarked Dagger Moth (Acronicta innotata)
Dark Marbled Carpet Moth (Dysstroma citrata)

del.icio.us Tags: White-spotted Sable Moth,Anania funebris,Large Maple Spanworm Moth,Prochoerodes lineola,Common Ringlet Butterfly,Coenonympha tullia,Bristly Cutworm Moth,Lacinipolia renigera,Modest Sphinx Moth,Pachysphinx modesta,Unmarked Dagger Moth,Acronicta innotata,Dark Marbled Carpet Moth,Dysstroma citrata

Technorati Tags: White-spotted Sable Moth,Anania funebris,Large Maple Spanworm Moth,Prochoerodes lineola,Common Ringlet Butterfly,Coenonympha tullia,Bristly Cutworm Moth,Lacinipolia renigera,Modest Sphinx Moth,Pachysphinx modesta,Unmarked Dagger Moth,Acronicta innotata,Dark Marbled Carpet Moth,Dysstroma citrata

Flickr Tags: White-spotted Sable Moth,Anania funebris,Large Maple Spanworm Moth,Prochoerodes lineola,Common Ringlet Butterfly,Coenonympha tullia,Bristly Cutworm Moth,Lacinipolia renigera,Modest Sphinx Moth,Pachysphinx modesta,Unmarked Dagger Moth,Acronicta innotata,Dark Marbled Carpet Moth,Dysstroma citrata

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Larvae Match-up Part 2

Last week, I showed the larvae and moths or butterflies of eight different species. I have five more tonight. What I find surprising (but probably shouldn't) is that I have photographs of some identified moths that I cannot find photos of the larvae.

Like before, each larvae / moth set has at least one photograph by me. The other photos are credited and linked so that you can find more information and different photos. All links will open in a new window or tab. So here we go!

Waved Sphinx Moth
Ceratomia undulosa

Larva (photo: bugguide.net)

Adult (photo: this past summer)

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Mottled Prominent Moth
Macrurocampa marthesia

Larva (photo: bugguide.net)

Adult (photo: on the garage this summer)

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Pearl Crescent Butterfly
Phyciodes tharos

Larva (photo: bugguide.net)

Adult (photo taken by me in Sutton, New Hampshire this past summer)

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Virginia Ctenucha Moth
Ctenucha virginica

Larva (photo: bugguide.net)

Adult (photo: this past summer on my dirty garage window)

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Rheumaptera hastata/subhastata species group
These geometer moths cannot be identified by looking at an image. They are separated by examination of the genitalia (which I was not about to do). See the Rheumaptera Info page for specifics. I therefore have two larvae for one moth. If I ever see one of the larvae some summer, I may know which moth I photographed.

Rheumaptera larva (photo: bugguide.net)

Rheumaptera prunivorata larva (photo: bugguide.net)

Adult (photo: again, my filthy garage window this past summer)

I have sixteen more butterflies and moths in my collection to match up, so there will be more posts. Check back next week!

Flickr Tags: Waved Sphinx Moth,Ceratomia undulosa,Mottled Prominent Moth,Macrurocampa marthesia,Pearl Crescent Butterfly,Phyciodes tharos,Virginia Ctenucha Moth,Ctenucha virginica,Rheumaptera hastata

Technorati Tags: Waved Sphinx Moth,Ceratomia undulosa,Mottled Prominent Moth,Macrurocampa marthesia,Pearl Crescent Butterfly,Phyciodes tharos,Virginia Ctenucha Moth,Ctenucha virginica,Rheumaptera hastata

del.icio.us Tags: Waved Sphinx Moth,Ceratomia undulosa,Mottled Prominent Moth,Macrurocampa marthesia,Pearl Crescent Butterfly,Phyciodes tharos,Virginia Ctenucha Moth,Ctenucha virginica,Rheumaptera hastata

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Northern Crescent Butterfly

Technorati Tags: Phyciodes cocyta, Northern Crescent butterfly
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Common Ringlet Butterfly

Coenonympha tullia

One of the many butterflies George and I saw on Sunday.

Technorati Tags: Coenonympha tullia, common ringlet butterfly 

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Camera Critters: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Please click on these photos to see them full size. You can see the proboscis of the butterfly in each photo. In case you aren't sure what you are seeing, I have blown up the second photo and pointed an arrow at this "tongue."

Thank you so much for visiting!
To visit more participants,

click the graphic above.

My other Camera Critters post features a common ringlet butterfly.

Technorati Tags: eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly, Papilio glaucus, Camera Critters
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