We're having a bit of weather front passing today, and as a consequence we had a trace of a shower early, and pretty heavy clouds most of the time, with an occasional peek of the sun. The good side of that is that temperatures are down in a sensible range of high 70's to low 80's, and bit of steam...
Just when I thought I had my dark butterflies down cold, nature, as usual, threw me a curve. Almost immediately, I found this one. Looks like a dark swallowtail, but no tails, and seems too small. If I can get both a top and bottom view, I'll have a decent chance of identifying it.
OK, got the underside of the wing. What's with that orange markings up by the head? Eureka! It's a
Red Spotted Purple Butterfly (
Limenitis arthemis astyanax). Not a swallowtail at all, it's in the brushfoot family of butterflies. Note the red spots on the wing tips. Another mimic of the Pipevine Swallowtail (which I haven't seen yet).
Just another view of the same butterfly on a kudzu leaf.
More beach, birds and butterflies below:
A sunbeam falls on some activity at the boat ramp.
One of the sandpiper types on a rock jetty.
The Great Blue Heron on the Posing Post give me the hairy eyeball.
Skye cools off.
Probability of Sea Nettle still 100%.
A Red Admiral Butterfly, Vanessa atalanta.
Rank after rank of dark clouds rolling by.
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