Butterflies

When it comes to identifying butterflies I'm no expert, but there are some butteries that are easy to identify, such as the Monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterfly.



A photo of a Monarch, with its wings folded, on a Teasel flower-head.



Another easy to identify butterfly that is common to this area is the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). I found this one on some flowering Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum pilosum).



Its not as easy to identifying different Fritillary butterflies. There are hundreds of different Fritillary butterflies and many of them look the same at first glance. For example, here is a photo I took of a Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) on a Wild Bergamot flower in our field ...



Here is a photo from the same field, just a few feet away and minutes later, of another Fritillary butterfly, but this is a Meadow Fritillary (Boloria bellona). While the two butterflies look similar, the markings at the top of the wings are different along with the antenna.