Great Spangled Fritillary

Posted on December 22, 2023 by tspuckler

While walking along railroad tracks in southern Illinois, I observed an example of this fine butterfly, which I also see in my home state of Ohio on occasion.

This beautiful insect is named for the orange and black fritillary pattern on the upper side of the wings and the silvery spangled areas on the underside of the wings. The sexes are colored differently, with females being more pale with a dark blackish color on the rear half of their wings. This pattern is not seen as distinctly in males.

The species is long-lived and many individuals that are found in late August and September (and in this case early October) are often very worn, with frayed and even missing parts of their wings.

The wingspan of the Great Spangled Fritillary is 3 to 4 inches. As mature butterflies, due to their large size, prefer large flowers including Common Milkweed, Thistle and Joe-Pye-Weed.

Similar to many other butterflies, they have chemoreceptors on the bottom surfaces of their four walking legs. These allow butterflies to find nectar with their feet.

Their caterpillars eat the leaves of different types of violets. They eat at night. During the day, the caterpillars hides under leaves. Unlike most butterfly larvae, which molt five times, they molt six times, becoming bigger each time that they molt until they they reach the final larval stage.

Great Spangled Fritillaries live mostly in temperate climates, but can be found in extremes from the arctic to the subtropical. They can be found in both open woodlands and prairies, preferring to be in moist habitats. Look for this butterfly in open, damp places including fields, valleys, pastures, meadows, open woodland, and prairies.

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Clymene Moth

Posted on July 22, 2022 by tspuckler

I saw this cool creature while hiking in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It is noted for the striking upside-down cross pattern on its forewings. Because of this design, some people refer to it as the “Crusader Moth.”

This is a member of the Tiger Moth family (as is the Woolly Bear/Isabella Tiger Moth). Typically it inhabits deciduous forests and the fields adjacent to them where their black, bristly larvae feed on a wide variety of plants.

It may be fitting that the Clymene Moth looks like a Star Trek badge, because it boldly goes everywhere, day and night. Unlike the nocturnal habits of most moths, it does not shy away from sunshine. But like other moths, it is attracted to lights at night.

The two smooth black antennae allow them to sense and smell the species in their area. Like like other moths, they communicate through pheromones and chemical smells. With a wingspan of 1-1/2 to 2 inches, this is not an especially large moth.

The Clymene Moth is native to eastern North America. Adults seem to prefer moist areas like wetlands, where they visit flowers and use their long proboscises (tongues) to drink nectar. I most often find it in wooded areas adjacent to creeks.

This is always a neat insect to encounter during the summer months, when it is most active.

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Garden Tiger Moth

Posted on April 22, 2022 by tspuckler

While hiking at Point Reyes National Seashore, I came across a few of these really cool looking caterpillars. The Garden Tiger Moth lives in the northern United States, Canada and Europe.

Like the Woolly Bear (the caterpillar of the Isabella Tiger Moth) from my home state of Ohio, this “punk rock” looking caterpillar prefers cool climates with temperate seasonality, since they overwinter.

Tiger Moths tend to have conspicuous patterns on their wings that serve as a warning to predators, indicating the moth’s poisonous body fluids. Its caterpillar’s hairs act as a deterrent to birds and provide some protection against parasitic flies and wasps.

This species resides in a number of habitats, including gardens, damp meadows, fens, riverbanks, sand dunes and open woodland. Because of the caterpillar’s generalist diet, it is not constrained to where it lives by needing a specific host plant.

Like other Tiger Moths, the adult Garden Tiger Moth exudes a yellow smelly liquid from a gland at the back of its head as a deterrent to predators. This insect’s bold colors are ideal for frightening predators – as the moth normally hides its hindwings under its less colorful forewings when resting.

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Nevada Admiral

Posted on February 11, 2022 by tspuckler

This cool creature has a very limited range and I’ve only been lucky enough to encounter it a few times. The Nevada Admiral occurs only in the Spring Mountains in southern Nevada.

This insect belongs to a large family known as the Brushfooted Butterflies, which are distinguished by their reduced brush-like forelegs that are curled up and not functional for walking. It’s bold black and white pattern make for a distinctive “look,” with white bands replacing the orange bands of the Red Admiral found in my home state of Ohio.

The Nevada Admiral’s habitat is deciduous forests, streamsides in coniferous forests, aspen groves, as well as small towns and suburbs. Like the Red Admiral, male Nevada Admirals often perch in a specific spot, waiting for females to come into their territory and chasing out other males.

Adults feed on tree sap, carrion and flower nectar, while their larva consume mostly aspen, cottonwood and willow leaves. It was neat to see these strikingly marked inhabitants on Mount Charleston when I visited the Silver State.

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Virgin Tiger Moth

Posted on August 13, 2021 by tspuckler

While looking under pieces of plywood on an open field in search of snakes, I came upon the pupa of a moth. I took it home and set it up in a little terrarium. A few months later the moth emerged.

The Virgin Tiger Moth is a member of a large group of sometimes dramatically patterned moths who whose fuzzy offspring are called “wooly bears” or “wooly worms.”

Tiger Moths are unusual among moths because they have tymbal organs, which can be used to produce ultrasonic sound. These ultrasonic emanations are thought to startle bats, warn bats to stay away, or to “jam” their bat radar.

The Virgin Tiger Moth is found in woodland and wetland edges, clearings and fields east of the Rocky Mountains, though it’s uncommon in the far South.

Its caterpillars eat bedstraw, clover, lettuce, plantains and other low-growing herbaceous plants. They are often seen in the Fall crossing roads as they look for sheltered areas to overwinter.

In the Spring the caterpillars become active again and begin feeding. After a few weeks they form a pupa and in late Spring or early Summer they will emerge as adults.

The striking stained glass-looking forewings along with the bright underwings, used to scare off predators, make encountering one of these fine insects a memorable experience.

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Chalcedon Checkerspot

Posted on March 26, 2021 by tspuckler

I sometimes come across this colorful and very cool little butterfly while on my visits to California. It it relatively small, with a wingspan of less than two inches.

It is a highly variable species, with the wing upper surface being black to dark brown and a characteristic yellow and red checkerspot pattern.

The Chalcedon Checkerspot is widespread in the western mountains from Mexico to Alaska and ranges west to the Pacific Coast. It is a habitat generalist, though I most often see it in open fields.

It can also be found in streamsides, forest clearings, sagebrush flats, desert hills and alpine areas. Males often remain perched on their caterpillar host plants, like Monkey Flower, as a strategy to encounter females.

This is an enjoyable creature to see on my visits to the Golden State.

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Clouded Sulphur

Posted on December 18, 2020 by tspuckler

This is often the last butterfly of the year that I see, sometimes here in Ohio as late as mid-November. I also come across them pretty consistently on my visits to southern Illinois in October.

The Clouded Sulphur may be encountered in fields, lawns, alfalfa or clover fields, meadows and roadsides. Swarms of these butterflies often congregate at mud puddles. Their range covers most of North America.

Unlike some other late-flying species, the Clouded Sulphur does not hibernate over the winter as an adult. On the upper sides of its wings, males have a solid black border, while the females have yellow spots in their borders (unfortunately, this butterfly rarely lands with its wings open).

The word “butterfly” probably originated because of the yellow color of European sulphurs. The Clouded Sulphur has seasonal color variations that range from a white to yellow.

To me seeing this insect is a sure sign of Autumn, as it often visits Fall-flowering plants like New England Aster.

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Queen

Posted on March 13, 2020 by tspuckler

While hiking in the Mojave Desert, I sometimes come across this fine creature in the vicinity of cattle watering troughs or natural springs where there is green plant life in the surrounding area.

This insect is part of the subfamily Danainae, known as the Milkweed Butterfly Group. It is a close relative to the Monarch Butterfly, though it tends to be more chestnut in color, rather than orange. It is also more solidly colored and only faintly veined.

Like those of Monarchs, the caterpillars of Queens feed on several different species of poisonous milkweed. The caterpillars acquire the milkweed toxins, and as a result both they and the adult butterflies are rather poisonous.

Birds will avoid these orange (or rust), black and white butterflies and any other butterflies with similar markings like the deceptive, non-poisonous Viceroy.

Queens have a wingspan of almost four inches and can be found in open, sunny areas including fields, deserts, roadsides, pastures, dunes, washes and waterways in the southern United States.

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Sweetheart Underwing Moth

Posted on October 26, 2019 by tspuckler

While recently hiking through a forest in southern Illinois, I noticed this cool creature blending in with the bark of a tree. I occasionally also find this relatively large moth in my yard.

“Underwing Moth” is a common name for a diverse group of moths with distinctive wing patterns. There are more than 200 species of underwings, the majority occurring in eastern North America.

While at rest, the well-camouflaged forewings’ various shades of gray and brown allow the insect to blend in with its surroundings. Most underwing moths are active at night and spend the day resting upside down.

When frightened, it exposes its underwings. It is thought that their bright colors, arranged in roughly concentric markings, resemble the eyes of a predatory animal, and this may confuse whatever wants to eat the moth for a few seconds, while it makes a hasty retreat.

The Sweetheart Underwing Moth’s habitat is forested areas. It is particularly common in Cottonwood (which their caterpillars feed on) stands along rivers, creeks and in urban areas.

I always enjoy coming across this impressive invertebrate whether it be out-of-state or in my own backyard.

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Zebra Swallowtail

Posted on July 13, 2019 by tspuckler

This a butterfly that I see more-often-than-not when visiting Carter Caves, Kentucky.

Its distinctive wing shape and long wing tails make it easy to identify; its black-and-white-striped pattern is reminiscent of a zebra.

The main reason I don’t see Zebra Swallowtails very much on northeast Ohio (where I live) is that their caterpillars feed on Pawpaw (a southern tree) leaves, and are rarely found far from these trees.

The adult butterflies feed on flower nectar and minerals from damp soil. They frequently congregate with other butterflies – in this case, a Red-spotted Purple. This behavior is known as “puddling.”

The tongue of the Zebra Swallowtail is much shorter than other swallowtail butterflies, so they are attracted to shorter, flatter flowers rather than long, tube-shaped blooms.

This is a “classic” American insect that I enjoy seeing when I am out and about.

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Category Archives: Insects – Butterflies & Moths

Great Spangled Fritillary

Clymene Moth

Garden Tiger Moth

Nevada Admiral

Virgin Tiger Moth

Chalcedon Checkerspot

Clouded Sulphur

Queen

Sweetheart Underwing Moth

Zebra Swallowtail