Butterflies – Leopard Lacewing – Cethosia cyane
A fairly common butterfly of India, southern Asia, Indo China and in this decade as far west as the Philippines. The above shot of the female was photographed at the Carleton University “Live” Butterfly exhibit in the Fall of 2010. (Location)
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Butterflies – Small Postman – Heliconius erato
(perhaps subspecies petiverano)
Photographed at the Carleton University “Live” Butterfly exhibit in the Fall of 2010. (Location)
A small butterfly, the Small Postmen is commonly found in Central America and South America and occasionally as far north as Texas. It is a member of the sub-family Heliconiinae of the family Nymphalidae. The Erato longwings are also known as the Red Postman, and the Small Postman Longwing. This butterfly favors the Passiflora family of flowers (Passion Vines) and eats not only the nectar but also the pollen of this family of flowers.
I think that the above photo is of the subspecies Heliconius erato petiverano which is referred to as the Crimson-patched Longwing in Costa Rica. Size is generally about 7 cm.
The Heliconius erato are not poisonous but their colour and habits mimic the Heliconius melpomene which is poisonous or distasteful to predators.
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Butterflies – Compton Tortoiseshell – Nymphalis vaualbum
Photographed in the woods near the Bruce Pit in Nepean, Ontario very early int eh Spring 2008.
Butterflies – Thoas Swallowtail – Papillio thoas
Photographed at the Butterfly exhibit in the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2011. The image above is the male and the image below is the female.
Butterflies – Giant Swallowtail – Papilio cresphontes
Photographed at Butterfly World in Florida in 2011.
The Giant Swallowtail butterfly is the largest of the North American butterflies. At about 12 cm, it is easy to spot in those areas where it is common. Its caterpillar is known as an ‘Orange Dog’ because of its fondness for the leaves of citrus fruits especially the Orange trees. The range of the Giant Swallowtail is primarily in those areas where citrus plants are grown and that includes areas of Point Pelee and Point Pelee in Canada. The southern edges of its range would include Mexico and the northern edges of Venezuela and Colombia.
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Butterflies – Eastern Black Swallowtail – Papilio polyxenes
The above photograph of a Black Swallowtail butterfly was taken near Massena, NY on our way back from spending a few days in Lake Placid, New York, climbing Cascade Mountain and driving up to the peak of Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks. Continue reading →
Butterflies – Brown Clipper – Parthenos sylvia philippensis
There are two common colour variations of the Clipper butterflies normally on display in Butterfly Exhibitions. The above specimen which was photographed at the Carleton University “Live” Butterfly exhibit in the Fall of 2010 is the brown variation (P. s. philippensis).
The tiger-like striping of the abdomen is the primary identification feature of the species with the brown subspecies being the more common variety. The blue subspecies ( P. s. lilacinus) has a blue background rather than black background.
The range of the Clippers includes much of south and south-east Asia. They fly quickly in a stiff-winged fashion and are about 8-9 cm in size with females being somewhat larger than the males.
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Butterflies – Silver-bordered Fritillary – Boloria selene
Photographed during a breeding bird survey at Alfred Bog near Alfred, Ontario in the Spring of 2006
Butterflies – Gulf Fritillary – Agraulis vanillae
Photographed on Merritt Island in Florida while on a cycling tour in 2011.
Butterflies – White Admiral – Limenitis arthemis
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