Top Photo: Long-tailed skipper rests between visits to flowers. Long-tailed skipper is a southern species of butterfly which moves north following breeding each year. Sometimes, they make it all the way to the northeastern states in fall. Butterfly enthusiasts would be all a-flutter should a long-tailed skipper show up on a fall-blooming flower in September in, say, Cape Cod, MA or even Cape May, NJ. I remember one occasion when a long-tailed skipper was spotted at a rural mailbox withRead more
Posts tagged: #Silver-spotted Skipper
Some Early Summer Sights
Top Photo: Purple coneflower in front of Picnic Dome at Museum of Life & Science. Purple coneflower is in full bloom. This flower attracts many insects. It’s a rewarding experience to visit a planting of coneflower. Lots of different butterfly species come to coneflower for its nectar, and goldfinches can’t resist the seeds. Coneflower likes sun, can handle the heat and will tolerate a forgetful gardener’s lack of watering, so you can’t lose by planting these 3 foot tall flowersRead more
What’s Happening in the Wild
Above, during a downpour, northern rough-winged swallows take a break from swirling, diving and capturing airborne insects over the wetlands. If, while visiting the museum you park at the parking deck, stop and have a look at the flowers blooming along the path leading to the deck, you may see some interesting insects, including several species of butterfly. Over the past week I’ve been seeing dogbane beetles on their namesake plant along the path of the outdoor loop through ExploreRead more
Hot Summer Sights
Even though it’s blistering hot outside, it’s still worth the trip outdoors to see what’s going on. Here’s proof. Some dragonflies. A trio of butterflies. A fly. And turtle news. Parting shot. Read more
September Leps in Various Forms and Conditions
Top Photo: Pine sphinx moth caterpillar. Three Moths (including specimen above) The caterpillar in the above photo probably just crawled down out of an oak tree and is in search of a safe place to pupate which, reportedly, may take two or more years. (?) If you’ve never heard of a sphinx moth, you’ve probably seen one. The tobacco hornworm is a sphinx moth caterpillar. The moth in the photo below is a Pandora’s sphinx moth (Eumotpha pandoras), all grown up.Read more
Blooms and Butterflies.
Photos of a handful of flowers and leps which can currently be seen as you stroll the Museum’s grounds. And one beetle that typically doesn’t show up till mid-April. Go out and see what you can find!Read more
Treefrogs Arrive!!
It’s that time of year again when we start to see newly morphed treefrogs on the vegetation surrounding the Wetlands. Yesterday (6/22/11), I was out walking the “Wild” with a group of Summer Campers. The sharp-eyed campers spotted the treefrogs pictured here on the branches of the now blooming Buttonbush which grows along the south side of the Wetlands. Gray treefrogs can be green, gray, or even brown in color, depending upon what it is that they’re resting on at theRead more
Tiger Swallowtails and Others
It has been widely reported over the last week or so that Eastern Tiger Swallowtails are being seen in large numbers throughout our area (the Carolinas). Listservs such as Carolina Leps have had posts which speak of “an explosion of Tiger Swallowtails” and subject lines like “Tigers!” and “Day of the Tiger.” It’s no different here at the Museum. Tiger swallowtails are back! Tiger swallowtail numbers peak in April/May and again in late July/August here in the Piedmont, although they canRead more
Birds & Butterflies of June
On the last day of the month, some of the avian and lepidopteran creatures of June… Can you guess how each animal got its name? What did you see at the Museum in June?Read more