More Butterflies!

An interesting day in the butterfly business.  As I was sitting outside at lunch today, this little guy came and sat down a few feet away; I had to go back to my office to get my camera.  It was still there when I came back.  Butterfly or moth?  I'm not really sure; I can't see the antennae, which would have a "club" in a butterfly.  It seemed to act like a butterfly to me, though.

The Joe Pye Weed seems to be fading as a butterfly attractant.  The swallowtails etc appear to be giving it up.  It's also getting dry (as it does in fall, as the seeds develop).  However, the skippers seemed abundant still, and there seem to be many varieties present.  Here's one with a different sort of pattern.

Fortunately, this plant, next to the Joe Pye Weed is in fresh bloom, and is attracting all the familiar butterflies.  Here's a shot I got of the upper wing, of what I'm reasonably confident is the tiny Eastern Tailed Blue, a female, since the male would have a blue back.  I saw one with a blue back, but alas, no photo.




I ran into another familiar one today twice, the Red Spotted Purple.  For all I know it could be the same one, but they were in very different places, but both on the ground.  Lousy backgrounds but beautiful iridescent blue backs.

What a color!













I was crawling around through the bushes today at some point and realized that what I was seeing was Spicebush, the host plant for the Spicebush Swallowtail.  I still see a few Spicebush Swallowtails from time to time, but they seem to be fading out of the butterfly fauna.







UPDATE:  The first photo is, indeed a moth, most likely Macaria aemulataria, the Common Angle.