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July 14-20, 2013
Omaha, Nebraska
Black Swallowtail(Papilio polyxenes)
Backyard butterfly weekly list. Number indicates the number of days sighted. Names in bold represent new sightings for the year.
Butterflies:
Cabbage White(3)
Orange Sulphur(1)
Monarch(1)
Eastern Tailed-blue(1)
Black Swallowtail(1)
Skippers:
Common Sootywing(1)
Last week was a decent week for butterflies in my backyard, with seven butterflies and one skipper recorded, including 4 new records for the year. Still, I considered not doing a butterfly diary for the week as the only photo I had was the rather pathetic Common Sootywing(Pholisora catullus) pictured left. It wasn't interested in landing on any plants or flowers, where it would contrast nicely. Instead, it landed on the shaded, inside rim of a decaying tree stump. Fortunately, as I went out to mow the lawn last evening, I spotted the Black Swallowtail(pictured above and below), hanging out on some weeds near a patch of dill, its host plant. It was late in the day and the butterfly did not seem at all interested in flying away, even after I brushed against it while mowing the lawn. After I finished with the lawn I went out to check it and it was still there and had folded its wings, giving me a chance to photograph the underside. By this time it was pretty dark so I had to use a flashlight and the camera flash. I checked on it this morning and it was still there.
Seeing the first Monarch(Danaus plexippus) of the year is a very good sign. I would expect their numbers to increase in the near future. The Butterfly Bush has started to bloom so, in general, number should be up. Still waiting for Tiger Swallowtails, but I finally saw my first one of the year, about 20 miles to the south of here. Hopefully I can do better than the one I saw last year.
Those are my butterfly spottings for the week. What are you seeing in your area?