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June 10-16, 2012
Omaha, Nebraska
Backyard butterfly weekly list. Number indicates the number of days sighted. Names in bold represent new sightings for the year.
Butterflies:
Question Mark(2)
Cabbage White(1)
Red Admiral(1)
Painted Lady(1)
Orange Sulphur(1)
Skippers:
Fiery(1)
Sachem(1)
Crossline(1)
It looks like the horrible butterfly drought is ending. The Butterfly Bush is in full bloom and the butterflies don't seem to be able to resist. Nothing special in the yard last week, but it's good to see the butterflies come back. And I'm finally starting to see some Grass Skippers. I had a tough time with ID'ing the one on the left, but I think I finally decided it is a female Sachem(Atalopedes campestris) Sachems are one of the most common skippers in the yard, but I don't usually see them with their wings spread like this. The other tough ID was the Crossline Skipper.(Polites origines, pictured below) I must admit, I'm nowhere near 100% on this, but it seems to be the best fit.
Painted Lady(Vanessa cardui, Above the fold.) returns to the list after a four week absence. It took several attempts to get the photo, and even then I had to really reach for it, as every time I got my camera, it would fly away. So it's possible they've been around, but just been laying low. Anyway, hopefully this trend continues and I'll have even more butterflies in the coming weeks.
So, what's going on in your area?