Great Spangled Fritillary - Speyeria cybele

Large butterfly with mostly brown, orange, and black coloring. The underside of the hindwings have large, silver spots.

Habitat: Drinking nectar and fluttering around in a rural garden.

comments (8)

Patomarazul

Lion

Nice wings and lighting effect! Posted 6 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks! The morning light was perfect :) Posted 6 years ago

Flown Kimmerling

Lion

So beautiful! <3 How did you get so close? Was it too distracted by yummy nectar? Posted 6 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks Lisa. I just stand really still next to whatever flowers they are favoring. They fly away at my initial approach, but after a minute or two they come back, and I’m already standing there, ready to shoot. I have this same tactic with frogs, snakes, salamanders, etc. I just inch up to them and stay still until I sort of blend in, and then they aren’t so afraid of me. Posted 6 years ago
2. 1. Flown Kimmerling
    
    Lion
    
    I'll have to try this patience thing sometime :P Posted 6 years ago
  2. 1. Christine Young
      
      Lion
      
      Lol, it's not easy! But, the creatures tend to come around pretty quickly once they realize that I have no intention of eating them ;P Posted 6 years ago

Flown Kimmerling

Lion

From today's Facebook Slideshow Spotlight:
"Brush-footed / Four-Footed Butterflies (Nymphalidae)--
JungleDragon is ending its first week of 2019 with a spotlight on members of the beautiful Nymphalidae family of butterflies. This family consists of around 6000 species in 544 genera which are mostly distributed in the tropics, however, we will be featuring just a handful of the best from our contributors from varying locations!

Nymphalids are some of the most prominent butterflies in the world, and include the likes of Monarchs, Mourning Cloaks, Viceroys, Tortoiseshells, and Admirals. They are medium to large butterflies with highly variable wing shape. They typically hold their wings flat when at rest and are well-known for their vibrant upper wing surfaces (usually in shades of white, black, orange, yellow, or brown). The lower surfaces of their wings are typically in stark contrast to the upper, however, and may even take on cryptic coloration (e.g. the appearance of dead leaves). This coloration provides camouflage for extra protection from predation.

As the common family names imply, many adult members of Nymphalidae have reduced forelegs, standing and walking entirely on the remaining four. There is a lot of debate as to why these appendages may have become vestigial, but the presence of setae (hair-like structures) in some species suggests that they may be used in signaling and communication via scent. This is often considered the unifying feature in Nymphalids, but they can additionally be characterized by the presence of three carinae (ridges) on the antennae." Posted 6 years ago, modified 6 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks Lisa <3 Posted 6 years ago