Butterflies and Moths

Wounded Beauty

In the bottom right photo.. at top/centre/right (still following?!! See note !) there is a dark dot on the flower. The dark dot is this little Skipper in the other photos. Yes.. I had the camera are full arms length above my head...sigh... again !! These little Common Roadside-Skippers (Amblyscirtes vialis) have been feeding each morning on the Morning Glory flowers

With a Morning Glory Seed pod just for the heck of it !

These wrigglers are leaving it a bit late !

These wrigglers are leaving it a bit late !

FINALLY !! The first that has allowed a photo this year ! Until 2 days ago there was nothing for the butterflies and bees to feed on and they were rapidly passing through. Now the honeysuckles have started to bloom. We are at least a month behind here. This morning I saw my first Monarch of the year but she declined to have her photo taken.. but this little Skipper sat for a few seconds !

Last year at the very end of October.. a Bordered Patch Butterfly laid her eggs on a couple of false Sunflowers . They hatched into a wonderful bunch of wriggling caterpillars.! www.ipernity.com/doc/pamj/27775251/in/album/446453 She had left it very late and as much as I sheltered them.. they all finally disappeared. Today... the first butterfly to patiently allow me to take her photo (several times!) was ... Bordered Patch butterfly ! I know its not one of "my" hatchlings.. but it just made me smile... Full Circle. EXPLORED !

First Lantana flower of the year.. and first Variegated Fritillary butterfly! One attracts the other . You cant get close right now the butterflies are very active.

These were tiny and in "clouds" of 6 or more. They were feeding on grass flowers mostly.. this one just sat still long enough on a dying Begonia leaf ! EXPLORED !

First one of the year !. Perched on a stray daisy type flower and she wouldnt feed while the fly was on it ! EXPLORED !

I saw only one here last year. This is the first this year. She is on a Lantana leaf

Not the best quality but taken through the fence tween my Inner and Outer gardens ! So few butterflies around I will take what I can get !

A Hayhurst's Scallopwing male butterfly (Staphylus hayhurstii) nectaring on False Sunflowers I submitted this one for verification to BAMONA and had verification and they only verified Hayhurst's and not Mazan's because the Mazan's would have bee well outside its range. Its ironic... I have seen very few butterflies at all here so far this year !!