Shaw Nature Reserve Part1
As I said earlier we went to Shaw Nature Reserve on the 4th – and I was so excited! We saw some pretty cool stuff – at least I really think it was cool!
I won’t post the pictures all in one day – there’s too many, so I’ll divide it up over as many days as it takes.
So, once we started walking out toward the prairie area we were walking on a gravel road:
And all up and down that road there were small butterflies puddling – dozens in little bunches! Now, for some people that may not seem like a big deal – but I’ve never seen it before, just heard of it. I’ve only seen one maybe two butterflies puddling anywhere at one time.
Quite a few of them were Pearl Crescents (at least I think they were, I sometimes can’t tell them apart from Checkerspots):
And then there were some type of Blues – I can never identify the species with these either. My guess is an Eastern Tailed Blue. These ones were really in larger number flying and resting all around each other. They flit around so fast and rarely have their wings open. However, one seemed to be injured and sat really still with its wings open – still I can’t identify it:
Anyone out there who can identify these species for certain?
It was certainly a great way to start out our walk!
And that gravelly stuff on the road – I want some like it to put somewhere in my garden – it must have just the right mix of minerals for them to be attracted to it for puddling!
on July 16th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I have been saying that I want to build a butterfly garden – and I found the perfect blog! I am so excited to read all of this and get some of these little guys fluttering around my home!
on July 17th, 2008 at 6:43 am
This is definitely an Eastern Tailed Blue. It is unusual to see on with the wings open, although I have seen them do it in the fall. You can tell it by the orange and black eye and the tiny tail near the eye.
on July 21st, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Lori – thanks! I’ve hardly seen them with their wings open either. I think this one might have been injured though.
Brooke – thanks for stopping by! I love butterfly gardening so much – if you want any help with it, please let me know!
on July 26th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
We have a small beginner butterfly garden in our back yard. Last year we had lots of black swallowtail caterpillars, they would get big and disappear. I am guess they they crawled off and hid to build their crysallis(I know I spelled that wrong). This year, we have hardly had any, we have lots of dill. I was excited to see a small one today, then as I was watching a waspy/yellow jacket zoomed in and ATE him!!! What do you do about caterpillar eaters?