Bronx Zoo Butterfly Photos

This is the best one besides the Queens. So beautiful! I also got to hold this one and it was wonderful. I look forward to going back someday. Planning for Summer of 2011.

I also hope to see a Luna moth. I've never seen one in person only photos. ♥

*Rant*

Disregard this....Idk. I've been through the wind mill lately. So that's why I haven't updated this wonderful blog of mine. I simply didn't have the energy.

I've been through alot. So all these posts mostly are fill ins understandably.

Mystery Moth?

So I found a moth in my house today. Or rather my mom found it and alerted me to it by screaming her but off saying "What is that?!" over and over again. ^^

I told her it's some sort of moth, harmless, nothing to be afraid of.......*giggle* so cute. As for the moth itself it still remains somewhat of a mystery. It's nothing I'm fretting over like some of my other mysteries that I've stumbled across.

But I'm still curious. It's too bad I didn't get a really good look at the wing patterns. But oh well. It was very pretty though and it made me happy.

Idk about my mom though.....XD :P

Photoshopped?

So a long time ago I came across this photo of a blue Hercules moth caterpillar. Now I'm wondering if this is real or photoshopped.

I've never heard of blue caterpillars of any species but I guess there's a first time for everything yes? So if anyone can confirm that this is real don't hesitate to drop me a line.

Thanks! :)

Why You Shouldn't Always Trust Wikipedia

Iacchus Skipper, Brown Ochre Butterfly - Trapezites iacchus

Well I came across these by accident so I decided to research them. When I get to Wikipedia I find that the so called article on them has practically nothing on them.

Which isn't surprising for a butterfly supposedly endemic to Australia. When I went searching the genius upon the first one I clicked on Trapezites argenteoornatus gave me somewhat of a start with it's misleading information.

That misleading information is this ( oh the shame people! ):

The Silver Spotted Skipper (Trapezites argenteoornatus) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found in Western Australia.

The wingspan is about 30 mm.

The larvae feed on Acanthocarpus preissii, Acanthocarpus verticillatus, and Acanthocarpus robustus.

After reading this I thought how can this be? We have a Silver Spotted Skipper here and it sure as hell ain't endemic to Australia.

T. argenteoornatus was on the list of the other Trapezites sp. that are all endemic to Australia. So upon further research I find the name "Silver Spotted Skipper" to be used on several different species of Hesperiidae.

Smh.... you could at least have mentioned this instead of once again misleading the less smarter people......this is why I always tell you to do extra research. I don't know what's reliable on Wikipedia articles that aren't referenced.

And I'm sure as hell not going to have a "bad reputation". :P So go do extra research and even tell me if anything needs correcting because what do I know?

I don't know everything on an individual species you know.

The Minscule Series - Walnut & Ants With Cubes of Sugar

You missed this didn't you? You get 2 today:



Honestly I think it gets cuter and cuter with every episode!! Another video proving in reality how smart ants are. The only thing is in reality real ants wouldn't be able to lift a bachi ball....

.....let alone move it. ^_^ I love these videos. ♥



LOL! No words......only.....*giggle* SO CUTE!! ^.^

Download:

Walnut
Ants With Cubes of Sugar

Your welcome! Until next time!

Bronx Zoo Butterflies: The Photos

This is the queen that landed on me. I have another photo of it. I'll post that later along with the others. Pretty no?

I wish I had gotten more though. XD

*Bonus Bronx Zoo Butterflies - The Question Mark Polygonia interrogationis

The Question Mark - Polygonia interrogationis

You see? Didn't I have a little rant on the scientific names of these things? Yup. Well I haven't had much or any ( Idk it depends on which butterfly I saw at the zoo ) experience with these so I'm just going to post the info.

However next time if the opportunity presents itself I will check the underside of the wings.

I hope that I can get to ID them correctly.

The Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) is a North American nymphalid butterfly. They live in wooded areas and city parks, or generally in areas which feature trees and free spaces. The adult butterfly has a wingspan of 5–7.5 cm (2–3 in).

Its flight period is from May to September. "The silver mark on the underside of the hindwing is broken into two parts, a curved line and a dot, creating a ?-shaped mark that gives the species its common name."

And now we're done. Go do extra research!!

Bronx Zoo Butterflies - Polydamas Swallowtail Battus philenor

The last in the series. Awww. Don't worry. I have plans on going back someday. Whether it'd be this year or the next I have plans to go back.

And then there's also the Natural History Museum's butterfly exhibit that's opening sometime in October. I would love to check this out too. Hopefully I get to see luna moths. And now for the entry itself. This was my first time seeing these.

So I have no other experience with these to relate to you. One was sitting high up on the mesh ceiling but I was able to make it out.

It was beautiful. As for info there doesn't seem to be much other then Wikipedia ( which contains a photo of a butterfly that's not a polydamas swallowtail ) and Bugguide. I'll do some more digging and see if I can find anything of interest.

Oh and then there's this which I thought was a nice little entry on the subspecies B. p. lucayus. There are a few subspecies of this one, one of which is extinct. :(

If I find anything else I'll definitely mention it.

Bronx Zoo Butterflies - White Peacock Anartia jatrophae

My only experience with these is at the Butterfly Exhibit. They're alot smaller then pictures imply. For years I thought they were medium sized like a Painted Lady. Nope. They're smaller then that. I think it's cute.

They're are other species in the genus Anartia and they look nothing like this one. They're just as pretty yes but you wouldn't think that they were in the same tribe ( Victorinini ) if it weren't for the wing shape being the same.

Mind boggling isn't it? What's even more mind boggling is Wikipedia:

The males of the species display a unique territorial behavior, in which they stake out a territory typically 15 meters in diameter that contains larval host plants.

They perch in this area and aggressively protect it from other insects and other male white peacocks.

After this statement it said "citation needed" What. The. Fuck.?! Why? Unless someone made it up I don't see why this needs citation.

However after doing a quick search to find anymore info and possibly confirmation on the above I found nothing. There doesn't seem to be anything on this butterfly other then Wikipedia.

So Idk......Where did they get the info from?

Bronx Zoo Butterflies - Red Spotted-Purple Limenitis astyanax

I've had past experience with these at camp. I never got to hold one until I went to the Bronx Zoo. So that was a real treat. While researching these I was reminded that these were mind boggling little bastards ( no harm meant, quite the opposite ).

And why do you ask? Well this is why my dear friends. They're polytypic. What does it mean?

Easy this:

WARNING!: Trying to understand the following will result in a major headache.

The White Admiral or Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis) is a polytypic species of North American brush-footed butterfly, common throughout much of the eastern United States. L. a. astyanax has red spots on its underside and the top of the wings are notable for their iridescent blue markings. L. a. arthemis on the other hand has a large white band traversing both the forewings and hindwings.

The Red-spotted Purple is a mimic of the poisonous Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) and is typically found in open woodlands and along forest edges.

Are you screaming from the pain yet? :P Yeah this is mind boggling because I don't have the slightest clue what polytypic means and Wiki doesn't give a decent definition.

I'll have to look for one and edit this post with updated info. I'm just guessing that this is another form of the White Admiral and they named it as subspecies. The Bronx Zoo has it listed as Limenitis astyanax instead of Limenitis a. astyanax.

They're making people think they're separate species!! Oh blasphemy! :P And they fooled me too because I had forgotten about all of this.

But it's fascinating even if thinking on it too much makes your head hurt.

Rest of info here.

Bonx Zoo Butterflies - The Comma Polygonia comma

I have had past experience with these at camp but that's about it. I remember a friend of mine catching one of these and thinking it was a monarch. ^_^

So cute right? =) Anyway other then that I haven't had much. The one I saw at the Bronx Zoo landed on one of the rocks. It stayed long enough for me to get a nice look at it's beautiful wings moving up and down before it took off again.

Too bad not long enough for me to get a photo but it was nice to see one again. Haven't seen any at Morning Side. Although if there's a chance I'll have to wait for next year.

Maybe.....we'll see. Well here's the info. As always do extra research!

This butterfly is seasonally variable. The upper side of the summer forms hind wings are all black whereas, the winter forms hind wings are reddish-orange. The underside of both forms is striped with dark and light brown. There is a silvery comma mark in the middle of the hindwing in both forms. Its wingspan is 4.5–6.4 cm (1.8–2.5 inches).

The Eastern Comma may be spotted in woods near rivers, ponds, marshes, swamps and other water. This butterfly seldom visits flowers, but rather feeds on sap, rotting fruit, salts and minerals from puddling, and dung.

The green eggs are laid singly or in stacks under host plants leaves and stems. The spiny larva varies in color from pale green to yellow to white and to even black. The solitary larva feeds on leaves at night. Older larvae construct daytime leaf shelters by pulling a single leaf together with silk. The chrysalis is brown and covered with spines. Winter form adults overwinter, some will also migrate south for the winter.

There's also one more thing I should mention. The Question Mark ( Polygonia interrogationis ) is also a possibility. As in it could've been a Question Mark that I saw instead of a Comma since they look so similar except for the difference in the underside of the hindwings obviously.

Because of that I'm including the Question Mark as a bonus in said series of mine. Finding a correct picture of one should be fun.

Oh before I forget:

The dark form of comma is frequently confused with the dark form of the Question Mark (P. interrogationis), but the two can readily be distinguished by the shape of the comma mark on the underside. The pale form is easily confused with the Satyr Comma (P. satyrus), which usually occurs north and west of the Eastern Comma's range.

Oh so now you tell me......smh. ^_^ I didn't get to look at it's hindwings hence the need for the bonus entry. I also wonder.......are there Exclamation Points and Periods?

You know what I mean like:

The Exclamation Point ( Polygonia exclamens )
The Period ( Polygonia periodis )
The Bracket ( Polygonia brackii )

*Giggle* I'd imagine that if this hasn't been thought of already someone would try and steal my idea and make hybrids or something.

*Giggle* I'm all for it! Just give credit to this blog please!

Excuse me and my horrible sense of humor. ^____________^

Bronx Zoo Butterflies - Zebra Longwing Heliconius charithonia

I just learned quite a bit on these. I saw 2 of them at the Bronx Zoo. Plus I was reminded of things that I already knew on them.

IMO this is so far one of the most interesting entries in this series.

Heliconius charithonia, commonly known as the Zebra Longwing or Zebra Heliconian, is a species of butterfly belonging to the subfamily Heliconiinae of the Nymphalidae. It was declared the official butterfly for the state of Florida in the United States in 1996.

The caterpillar feeds on Yellow Passionflower (Passiflora lutea), Corky-stemmed Passionflower (Passiflora suberosa), and Two-flower Passionflower (Passiflora biflora). The adults are unusual among butterflies in that they eat pollen as well as sip nectar.

This ability contributes to their longevity—3 months as an adult. Because of their relatively long lifespan and their activity throughout the day, this is a popular species with butterfly houses. Another unusual feature is that adults roost in groups of up to 70, and return to the same roost each evening.

My advise to other butterflies who want to live longer: EAT POLLEN!!

But of course more then likely that would be impossible since Zebra Longwings probably have a specially developed proboscis that allows them to do so.

Kinda like how the Vampire Moth ( Calyptra sp. ) has specially developed mouth parts to suck your blood........more on that later. Also males are attracted to female chrysalids just before they emerge. And they're not the only ones that do that either.

Apparently other Heliconids have this interesting behavior too. See here for a nice peak into the crazy sexual life of Heliconius charithonia!

And you didn't hear it from me! :P

Bronx Zoo Butterflies - Orange-Barred Sulphur Phoebis philea

I think I only saw one of these. I don't remember....XD but they were pretty. I don't have any experience with these other then at the Bronx Zoo.

The one I saw was alot paler then the one in the photo though.

Bugguide
Wikipedia

Linkies today because of lack of detailed info. XD