With its characteristic chequered black-and-white pattern this butterfly is quite distinctive although old, faded individuals can be mistaken for the dingy skipper or the burnet companion moth.
There are three North American subspecies, and others, including the nominate subspecies, in the Old World. Subspecies wyandot (W.H. Edwards) flies in the northeastern U.S., but apparently does not reach Canada (some workers now treat wyandot as a distinct species). Subspecies freija, described from Labrador, is found in most of the Canadian range from Labrador to Yukon, and subspecies loki flies in the Rocky Mountains from Colorado to British Columbia.
This middle-sized (wingspan: 53 to 81 mm) butterfly is a mimic of the larger Monarch (Danaus plexippus). The upperside is dark orange, with bold black lines on the veins on both wings. There is a row of white spots in the wide black wing borders and in a black line that cuts diagonally across the forewing tip. There is also a postmedian black line that runs across the veins on the hindwing. The underside is similar, but paler.
The Viceroy is widespread in Canada. It is resident from Nova Scotia to Quebec and Ontario, north to James Bay, and in the Prairie Provinces to the northern borders. There are records from Fort Smith and Hay River in the Northwest Territories. It was formerly resident in the southern interior of British Columbia, but was last recorded there at Lillooet in 1930 (Guppy et al., 1994).
The deep orange wing colour with the broad black border on the hindwing makes this medium-sized (wingspan: 30 to 48 mm) species very distinct. The underside is yellow with dark brown markings.
Range: Because this is only a rare stray in Canada, records for this common southern U.S. species are few and scattered. Based on a specimen in the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa, it has been reported by many authors as having been found once at Point Pelee and at Ottawa, in 1882. However, this was based on misinterpretations of early collection labels. There are only four valid Canadian records, three from southwestern Ontario one from Quetico Provincial Park in northwestern Ontario.
Besides the state butterfly, the Viceroy, Kentucky host a whole swarm of butterflies.
One of the most popular is the orange and black Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) which is one of the most common butterfly species in the world.
Unlike many butterflies, it does not become dormant during the winter and cannot survive heavy frosts or colder conditions. Therefore it migrates to warmer climates in winter.
The Painted Lady feeds on nectar from the flowers of thistles, red clover, asters, and many other plants.
What fascinates me the most about this butterfly is how different the under wing is to the upper wing.
I hope you like the pics that I have chosen for you!
Here are some Butterflies of Pennsylvania:
Aphrodite Fritillary
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Heliconiinae
Identification: Geographically variable. Upperside reddish orange-brown; male forewing with black spot below cell and with no black scales on veins. Underside of hindwing has pale submarginal band narrow or missing.
Wing Span: 2 1/2 - 3 1/4 inches (6.3 - 8.3 cm).
Life History: Males patrol for females during warm hours. Females walk about on the ground to lay single eggs near violets. First-stage caterpillars do not feed, but overwinter until spring, when they eat young leaves of violets.
Flight: One brood from mid-June to mid-September.
Caterpillar Hosts: Various violet species including northern downy violet (Viola fimbriatula) and lance-leaved violet (V. lanceolata).
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers of milkweed and viper's bugloss, among others.
Habitat: Moist prairies, high mountain meadows, openings in barrens, brushland, dry fields, open oak woods, bogs.
Range: Canada south of the taiga from Nova Scotia west through the northern Midwest and Great Plains to the Rocky Mountains, then south in the mountains to east-central Arizona and northern New Mexico; south in the Appalachians to northern Georgia.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Family: Papilionidae
Subfamily: Papilioninae
Identification: Male is yellow with dark tiger stripes. Female has 2 forms: one yellow like the male and the other black with shadows of dark stripes. Hindwing of both female forms has a row of striking blue chevrons and an iridescent blue wash over parts of the interior hindwing. The upperside hindwing has a prominent orange marginal spot that is generally larger than the row of pale marginal spots. On the underside of forewing of spring individuals the row of marginal spots may be merged into a continuous band, thus appearing similar to the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail.
Wing Span: 2 1/2 - 4 1/2 inches (6.2 - 11.4 cm).
Life History: Two broods in the north, three in the south. Males patrol for receptive females. Females lay eggs singly on host leaves. Caterpillars eat leaves and rest on silken mats on the upper surface of leaves. Chrysalids overwinter.
Flight: 3 flights from February-November in Deep South; 2 flights from May-September in north.
Caterpillar Hosts: Leaves of various plants including wild cherry (Prunus), sweetbay (Magnolia), basswood (Tilia), tulip tree (Liriodendron), birch (Betula), ash (Fraxinus), cottonwood (Populus), mountain ash (Sorbus), and willow (Salix).
Adult Food: Nectar of flowers from a variety of plants including wild cherry and lilac (Syringa vulgaris). Milkweed (Asclepias) and Joe-Pye Weed [Eupatorium] are favorites in summer.
Habitat: Deciduous broadleaf woods, forest edges, river valleys, parks, and suburbs.
Range: Eastern North America from Ontario south to Gulf coast, west to Colorado plains and central Texas.
Conservation: Not required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Silver Spotted Skipper
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Pyrginae
Identification: Wings are brown-black; hindwing is lobed. Forewing has transparent gold spots; underside of hindwing has a metallic silver band.
Wing Span: 1 3/4 - 2 5/8 inches (4.5 - 6.7 cm).
Life History: Adults perch upside down under leaves at night and on hot or cloudy days. To seek females males perch on branches and tall weeds, and occasionally patrol. Females lay single eggs near the host trees, and the caterpillars must find their proper host. Young caterpillars live in a folded leaf shelter; older ones live in a nest of silked-together leaves. Chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: Two broods from May-September in most of the East, a single brood to the north and west, three-four broods from February-December in the Deep South.
Caterpillar Hosts: Many woody legumes including black locust (Robinia pseudacacia), honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) and false indigo (Amorpha species). Also selected herbaceous legumes such s Glycyrrhiza species.
Adult Food: The Silver-spotted Skipper almost never visits yellow flowers but favors blue, red, pink, purple, and sometimes white and cream-colored ones. These include everlasting pea, common milkweed, red clover, buttonbush, blazing star, and thistles.
Habitat: Disturbed and open woods, foothill streamcourses, prairie waterways.
Range: Extreme southern Canada and most of the continental United States except the Great Basin and west Texas; northern Mexico.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
I hope you enjoyed the pretty butterflies and information!
My apologies for being late I have been under the weather and neither of my daughters were available to help me with completing the swap :-( Please remember me in prayers going through a tough time health wise!! (leonarasnick58)
Page 6 of Sahnetoffee's Comments
Back to Sahnetoffee's profile
So sorry these are late. Hope you had a wonderful Easter! Group APDG Happy Easter
Butterfly Deco; Butterflies from our Country
With its characteristic chequered black-and-white pattern this butterfly is quite distinctive although old, faded individuals can be mistaken for the dingy skipper or the burnet companion moth.
There are three North American subspecies, and others, including the nominate subspecies, in the Old World. Subspecies wyandot (W.H. Edwards) flies in the northeastern U.S., but apparently does not reach Canada (some workers now treat wyandot as a distinct species). Subspecies freija, described from Labrador, is found in most of the Canadian range from Labrador to Yukon, and subspecies loki flies in the Rocky Mountains from Colorado to British Columbia.
This middle-sized (wingspan: 53 to 81 mm) butterfly is a mimic of the larger Monarch (Danaus plexippus). The upperside is dark orange, with bold black lines on the veins on both wings. There is a row of white spots in the wide black wing borders and in a black line that cuts diagonally across the forewing tip. There is also a postmedian black line that runs across the veins on the hindwing. The underside is similar, but paler.
The Viceroy is widespread in Canada. It is resident from Nova Scotia to Quebec and Ontario, north to James Bay, and in the Prairie Provinces to the northern borders. There are records from Fort Smith and Hay River in the Northwest Territories. It was formerly resident in the southern interior of British Columbia, but was last recorded there at Lillooet in 1930 (Guppy et al., 1994).
The deep orange wing colour with the broad black border on the hindwing makes this medium-sized (wingspan: 30 to 48 mm) species very distinct. The underside is yellow with dark brown markings.
Range: Because this is only a rare stray in Canada, records for this common southern U.S. species are few and scattered. Based on a specimen in the Canadian National Collection in Ottawa, it has been reported by many authors as having been found once at Point Pelee and at Ottawa, in 1882. However, this was based on misinterpretations of early collection labels. There are only four valid Canadian records, three from southwestern Ontario one from Quetico Provincial Park in northwestern Ontario.
Decorate your partners profile with...fantasy
I hope you like the images that I chose
BL ~ Butterflies From Our State or Country #2
Besides the state butterfly, the Viceroy, Kentucky host a whole swarm of butterflies.
One of the most popular is the orange and black Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) which is one of the most common butterfly species in the world.
Unlike many butterflies, it does not become dormant during the winter and cannot survive heavy frosts or colder conditions. Therefore it migrates to warmer climates in winter.
The Painted Lady feeds on nectar from the flowers of thistles, red clover, asters, and many other plants.
What fascinates me the most about this butterfly is how different the under wing is to the upper wing.
I hope you enjoy this pretty Lady.
BL ~ Butterflies From Our State or Country #2
I hope you like the pics that I have chosen for you!
Here are some Butterflies of Pennsylvania:
Aphrodite Fritillary
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Heliconiinae
Identification: Geographically variable. Upperside reddish orange-brown; male forewing with black spot below cell and with no black scales on veins. Underside of hindwing has pale submarginal band narrow or missing.
Wing Span: 2 1/2 - 3 1/4 inches (6.3 - 8.3 cm).
Life History: Males patrol for females during warm hours. Females walk about on the ground to lay single eggs near violets. First-stage caterpillars do not feed, but overwinter until spring, when they eat young leaves of violets.
Flight: One brood from mid-June to mid-September.
Caterpillar Hosts: Various violet species including northern downy violet (Viola fimbriatula) and lance-leaved violet (V. lanceolata).
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers of milkweed and viper's bugloss, among others.
Habitat: Moist prairies, high mountain meadows, openings in barrens, brushland, dry fields, open oak woods, bogs.
Range: Canada south of the taiga from Nova Scotia west through the northern Midwest and Great Plains to the Rocky Mountains, then south in the mountains to east-central Arizona and northern New Mexico; south in the Appalachians to northern Georgia.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Family: Papilionidae
Subfamily: Papilioninae
Identification: Male is yellow with dark tiger stripes. Female has 2 forms: one yellow like the male and the other black with shadows of dark stripes. Hindwing of both female forms has a row of striking blue chevrons and an iridescent blue wash over parts of the interior hindwing. The upperside hindwing has a prominent orange marginal spot that is generally larger than the row of pale marginal spots. On the underside of forewing of spring individuals the row of marginal spots may be merged into a continuous band, thus appearing similar to the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail.
Wing Span: 2 1/2 - 4 1/2 inches (6.2 - 11.4 cm).
Life History: Two broods in the north, three in the south. Males patrol for receptive females. Females lay eggs singly on host leaves. Caterpillars eat leaves and rest on silken mats on the upper surface of leaves. Chrysalids overwinter.
Flight: 3 flights from February-November in Deep South; 2 flights from May-September in north.
Caterpillar Hosts: Leaves of various plants including wild cherry (Prunus), sweetbay (Magnolia), basswood (Tilia), tulip tree (Liriodendron), birch (Betula), ash (Fraxinus), cottonwood (Populus), mountain ash (Sorbus), and willow (Salix).
Adult Food: Nectar of flowers from a variety of plants including wild cherry and lilac (Syringa vulgaris). Milkweed (Asclepias) and Joe-Pye Weed [Eupatorium] are favorites in summer.
Habitat: Deciduous broadleaf woods, forest edges, river valleys, parks, and suburbs.
Range: Eastern North America from Ontario south to Gulf coast, west to Colorado plains and central Texas.
Conservation: Not required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Silver Spotted Skipper
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Pyrginae
Identification: Wings are brown-black; hindwing is lobed. Forewing has transparent gold spots; underside of hindwing has a metallic silver band.
Wing Span: 1 3/4 - 2 5/8 inches (4.5 - 6.7 cm).
Life History: Adults perch upside down under leaves at night and on hot or cloudy days. To seek females males perch on branches and tall weeds, and occasionally patrol. Females lay single eggs near the host trees, and the caterpillars must find their proper host. Young caterpillars live in a folded leaf shelter; older ones live in a nest of silked-together leaves. Chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: Two broods from May-September in most of the East, a single brood to the north and west, three-four broods from February-December in the Deep South.
Caterpillar Hosts: Many woody legumes including black locust (Robinia pseudacacia), honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) and false indigo (Amorpha species). Also selected herbaceous legumes such s Glycyrrhiza species.
Adult Food: The Silver-spotted Skipper almost never visits yellow flowers but favors blue, red, pink, purple, and sometimes white and cream-colored ones. These include everlasting pea, common milkweed, red clover, buttonbush, blazing star, and thistles.
Habitat: Disturbed and open woods, foothill streamcourses, prairie waterways.
Range: Extreme southern Canada and most of the continental United States except the Great Basin and west Texas; northern Mexico.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
I hope you enjoyed the pretty butterflies and information!
Blessings,
Yvonne
APDG ~†Happy Easter👯DecoðŸ°Swap🌼
APDG ~†Happy Easter👯DecoðŸ°Swap🌼
I hope you and yours have a
WONDERFUL & Blessed Easter!
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Blessings! cc
Decorate Your Partners Profile With Flowers
My apologies for being late I have been under the weather and neither of my daughters were available to help me with completing the swap :-( Please remember me in prayers going through a tough time health wise!! (leonarasnick58)
APDG- Be A Disney Girl!- TINKERBELL
Thank you for joining my swap!
Hello! I am your partner for flowers swap! I hope that you like them ;) Have a nice day and smile!