Shenandoah National Park, Virginia USA
Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2022 3:12 pm
Hello all.
We made a brief trip to the USA a couple of weeks ago, and I was impressed at how much this area of Virginia is a haven for beautiful butterflies. These pictures were taken off the Skyline Drive which runs along the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Firstly, this beauty which I think I've identified as the Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) - much bigger and more splendid than our home-grown silver-washed and dark-green frits. It posed perfectly for me and was even so obliging as to close its wings:
Next, a Camberwell Beauty (Nymphalis antiopa) - known as Mourning Cloak and quite common over there. I've only ever seen one once in Europe. A bit the worse for wear and lost a bit of a hindwing.
And this (not a very good picture, sorry) I believe is an American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis). Very different from its European counterpart.
We also saw several Monarchs and Zebra Swallowtails - as well as others I couldn't identify. I didn't get any pictures of them though.
But on the whole, I was quite pleased with the cooperative behaviour of our Transatlantic cousins (the insects, I mean...).
We made a brief trip to the USA a couple of weeks ago, and I was impressed at how much this area of Virginia is a haven for beautiful butterflies. These pictures were taken off the Skyline Drive which runs along the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Firstly, this beauty which I think I've identified as the Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) - much bigger and more splendid than our home-grown silver-washed and dark-green frits. It posed perfectly for me and was even so obliging as to close its wings:
But on the whole, I was quite pleased with the cooperative behaviour of our Transatlantic cousins (the insects, I mean...).