OK, I have a cute little butterfly. Rainfield was just talking to one of his cousins at Funnier Than Me. Not a big surprise. This is a skipper, family Hesperiidae, with over 3500 species worldwide. Fortunately (for me) most of them are in the tropics.
My newest butterfly book (thanks, Elaine!) shows 83 species in Eastern North America. Better yet, only 24 of those are likely to be in Michigan. That narrows it down to either the Zebulon or Hobomok Skipper.
It looks slightly more like the Hobomok Skipper, and the flight period is a better match- late spring to early summer.
Well, he thinks the hoary vetch tastes yummy. I'm just happy to get a good picture. The name "skipper" comes from their rapid, nervous flight pattern. If you looked at rainfield's picture, you instantly got the idea that they have really big eyes. So, at least you can easily ID most any skipper, that far. They are about an inch or maybe a little more across!
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6 comments:
Looks very mothlike.
How cute he is! Great photos.
i am seeing yellow everywhere lately--gorgeous!
My what big eyes he has. You got some really good shots there
Cute!
I've noticed that there aren't as many butterflies around like a few weeks ago. Dang, it's a strange year for nature.
John B- it does, but the antennae are not feathery.
John Y- I think all the skippers look a bit like they are on drugs.
Tracy- I love his proboscis!
Lynn- He's more orange, but yes.
Ann- point camera, click till the butterfly flies away. Hope.
Lin- I'm learning that quite a few of them migrate, or they have certain sets of weeks they are moving around.
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