Although it is the middle of winter here and butterflies are not prolific there are still some colourful varieties flying and worth recording. Monarchs can be seen at any time, one of the commonest varieties which have crossed the Atlantic and are now established in Spain.
Monarch -
Gulf Fritillary - agraulis vanillae
Another prolific butterfly, particularly around the Everglades, is the Gulf Fritillary. The handsome orange upper wing is outshone by the stunning blue spotted underwing which flashes alternately as the insect opens and closes its wings.
Gulf Fritillary - agraulis vanillae
Zebra Longwing - heliconius charithonia
Another very common butterfly is the Zebra Longwing which can be seen all year round virtually anywhere in the State. Its very long wings make a lovely delicate picture as it flutters gracefully over flowers in the garden.
Zebra Longwing - heliconius charithonia
Another bright orange butterfly is the Julia, again quite common around the Everglades. One has to look closely to distinguish all the orange species from each other, this one has the least marking on the upperwings and quite a distinctive curved forewing shape.
Julia - dryas iulia
Ruddy Daggerwing - marpesia petreus
This large and quite stunning swallowtail-like butterfly had me stumped for a while as it is not actually a swallowtail (papiliioninae). It is related the Admiral group (Limenitidinae) which contain the daggerwings. This is in fact a Ruddy Daggerwing which is primarily a South and Central American species which extends its range up into South Florida and is sometimes seen in Texas and other Gulf Coast states. I captured this image at Castellow Hammock in Homestead and it was one of several of this species I observed feeding on the flowering shrubs in the hummingbird and butterfly garden. I also spotted other very large species including the Pipevine and Giant Swallowtail but was not able to obtain good photos.
Ruddy Daggerwing - marpesia petreus
White Peacock - anartia jatrophae
The White Peacock butterfly can be seen in any open area, particularly wet meadows, fields and gardens. it is a resident of South Florida which can stray into Central and Northern regions.
Queen - danaus gilipus
The Queen Butterfly is closely related to the Monarch but slightly smaller and with less brilliant orange wing colouring. it is still a very attractive insect which is also poisonous to most predators so is quite a common sight throughout Florida.
Another of the nymphalidae family is the Soldier. This one is quite brown with thicker wing veins.
Another of the nymphalidae family is the Soldier. This one is quite brown with thicker wing veins.
Soldier . danaus eresimus
Mangrove Skipper - phocides pygmalion
Here is a completely different species from the many and prolific orange butterflies one sees everywhere in Florida. The Mangrove Skipper is quite large for the hesperidae family and is found in coastal mangroves in central and south Florida. I was lucky enough to capture this one near Key West. The blue scaling on the wings only glows in the bright sunshine, otherwise the colouring is primarily black/brown.
Orange-barred Sulphur - phoebis philea
The Orange-Barred Sulphur looks amazing in flight as the bright yellow upperwings flash alternately with the orange underwings, making a stunning display. Unfortunately they alight with closed wings so I was unable to catch the yellow uppersides. However a look at the next photo will give some idea.
This one is a male Large Orange Sulphur which has reverse coloring to its Orange-barred cousin. Here the upperwings are orange and the underwings yellow. Again making a flashy display in flight.
