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!
I hope you like the pics that I've chosen for you!
Unfortunately Pennsylvania doesn't have a state butterfly. I will share will you one of the butterflies from my state of Pennsylvania, the White Admiral Butterfly.
Identification: Upperside is black with broad white median bands on both wings; hindwing has a marginal row of blue dashes and a submarginal row of red dots. Underside is reddish-brown with white median bands as on the upperside. The other form of this butterfly, the Red Spotted Purple, hybridize where their ranges overlap, creating various intermediate forms which may be found in or near the overlap zone.
Wing Span: 2 1/4 - 4 inches (5.7 - 10.1 cm).
Life History: Males perch 3 feet or more above the ground on trees and tall bushes and rarely patrol for females. Eggs are laid singly on tips of host plant leaves; caterpillars eat leaves. Third-stage caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: Two broods from April-October.
Caterpillar Hosts: Leaves of many species of trees and shrubs including wild cherry (Prunus), aspen, poplar, cottonwood (Populus), oaks (Quercus), hawthorn (Crataegus), deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum), birch (Betula), willows (Salix), basswood (Tilia), and shadbush (Amelanchier).
Adult Food: Sap flows, rotting fruit, carrion, dung, and occasionally nectar from small white flowers including spiraea, privet, and viburnum. White Admirals also sip aphid honeydew.
Habitat: The White Admiral form is usually found in the north in deciduous broad-leaf or mixed evergreen forests dominated by aspen or birch. The Red-Spotted Purple form is usually found further south than the White Admiral, in deciduous or mixed forests, moist uplands, valley bottoms, and coastal plains.
Range: Red Spotted Purple is in Alaska and subarctic Canada southeast of the Rocky Mountains to central Texas; east to New England and central Florida. Isolated populations in Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas south into Mexico. The White Admiral form usually occurs north of a line through north central New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Minnesota. The Red-spotted Purple form is usually found south of this line. Much hybridization occurs where these forms meet. The Red-spotted Purple is a mimic of the poisonous Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor).
Here is an example of the Red Spotted Purple. This butterfly is not found in Pennsylvania.
Both of these butterflies are very beautiful. I hope you enjoyed.
Although the Viceroy shares the Monarch's color scheme that is where the similarity end. Viceroys do not migrate. They overwinter as 1st or 2nd instar larvae, rolled up in a leaf of their host plant (willow or poplar).
The most distinctive difference is evident here in this comparison photo. The upper is a Monarch, the lower a Viceroy. You can see the black line across the Viceroy's post median hind wing.
Viceroys flit as they fly instead of the floating flap flap of a Monarch.
Page 12 of SuZignomeMoM's Comments
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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
BL ~ Butterflies From Our State or Country #1
I hope you like the pics that I've chosen for you!
Unfortunately Pennsylvania doesn't have a state butterfly. I will share will you one of the butterflies from my state of Pennsylvania, the White Admiral Butterfly.
Identification: Upperside is black with broad white median bands on both wings; hindwing has a marginal row of blue dashes and a submarginal row of red dots. Underside is reddish-brown with white median bands as on the upperside. The other form of this butterfly, the Red Spotted Purple, hybridize where their ranges overlap, creating various intermediate forms which may be found in or near the overlap zone.
Wing Span: 2 1/4 - 4 inches (5.7 - 10.1 cm).
Life History: Males perch 3 feet or more above the ground on trees and tall bushes and rarely patrol for females. Eggs are laid singly on tips of host plant leaves; caterpillars eat leaves. Third-stage caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: Two broods from April-October.
Caterpillar Hosts: Leaves of many species of trees and shrubs including wild cherry (Prunus), aspen, poplar, cottonwood (Populus), oaks (Quercus), hawthorn (Crataegus), deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum), birch (Betula), willows (Salix), basswood (Tilia), and shadbush (Amelanchier).
Adult Food: Sap flows, rotting fruit, carrion, dung, and occasionally nectar from small white flowers including spiraea, privet, and viburnum. White Admirals also sip aphid honeydew.
Habitat: The White Admiral form is usually found in the north in deciduous broad-leaf or mixed evergreen forests dominated by aspen or birch. The Red-Spotted Purple form is usually found further south than the White Admiral, in deciduous or mixed forests, moist uplands, valley bottoms, and coastal plains.
Range: Red Spotted Purple is in Alaska and subarctic Canada southeast of the Rocky Mountains to central Texas; east to New England and central Florida. Isolated populations in Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas south into Mexico. The White Admiral form usually occurs north of a line through north central New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Minnesota. The Red-spotted Purple form is usually found south of this line. Much hybridization occurs where these forms meet. The Red-spotted Purple is a mimic of the poisonous Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor).
Here is an example of the Red Spotted Purple. This butterfly is not found in Pennsylvania.
Both of these butterflies are very beautiful. I hope you enjoyed.
Blessings,
Yvonne
BLG ~ Butterfly profile deco ლ July
Meet the Viceroy, Kentucky's state butterfly.
Although the Viceroy shares the Monarch's color scheme that is where the similarity end. Viceroys do not migrate. They overwinter as 1st or 2nd instar larvae, rolled up in a leaf of their host plant (willow or poplar).
The most distinctive difference is evident here in this comparison photo. The upper is a Monarch, the lower a Viceroy. You can see the black line across the Viceroy's post median hind wing.
Viceroys flit as they fly instead of the floating flap flap of a Monarch.
I hope you enjoyed meeting the Viceroy.
Just stopping by to say Hi!
I loved reading your blog :)
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APDG 💙💚💛â¤ï¸ðŸ’œ Lottsa Hearts! ;-) Enjoy these hearts!!!!
APDG 💙💚💛â¤ï¸ðŸ’œ Lottsa Hearts! ;-)
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Sending ♥♥♥♥ to you
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APDG 💙💚💛â¤ï¸ðŸ’œ Lottsa Hearts! ;-)
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