Lot's of people love Monarchs and that's great. But it's not just the flashy butterflies that need attention. This little beauty is a Dun Skipper. It's a grass skipper in the family Hesperiidae. Skippers are small butterflies that feed on grasses and sedges as caterpillars and flowers as adults. There are many species of skipper … Continue reading Subtle Beauty
Tag: butterfly
Juniper Hairstreak Butterfly
Butterfly season is in full swing here in New England. My goal this year is to see (and photograph) as many new butterflies as I can. To that end I took a drive to Woburn Ma, in early May, for a visit with some friends and an afternoon inspecting foliage at Horn Pond. I was … Continue reading Juniper Hairstreak Butterfly
Why Butterflies?
It's almost butterfly season again. The earliest butterflies, Mourning Cloaks, commas, sometimes come out in March. It's time to start looking. When I said as much to a friend she asked what it was about butterflies that drew me. The following is my answer. I owe butterflies a debt. I discovered them during the COVID … Continue reading Why Butterflies?
Exploring Small Butterflies
I was out butterflying the other day, looking for hairstreaks. I was hoping to see either a banded or a striped hairstreak, both of which are relatively common in Vermont. That doesn’t mean easy to find. Hairstreaks are small butterflies, often with a drab background color broken up by occasional bright spots or streaks. They … Continue reading Exploring Small Butterflies
Spring Fertility
We're having babies left and right! First the Rosy Maple Moth now not one or two but 5 Cecropia Moths. They hatched from eggs given to me by a caterpillar friend (everyone needs one). Caterpillars start life as tiny things and literally eat themselves out of their skin. They grow too large for their body … Continue reading Spring Fertility
The Nature of Things 