Recently in Butterflies Category

Western Pygmy-Blue, Arizona (click image to view larger)

Photographed at Agua Fria National Monument, north of Phoenix, AZ, the Western Pygmy-Blue (Brephidium exile) is found throughout much of the lower portion of western North America (in the far west they can also be found as far north as eastern Oregon). This species preferred habitat is in alkaline areas such as deserts and, along the coast, salt marshes. With an average wingspan of just 1/2"/1.3 cm, it is one of the world's smallest butterflies and is generally considered to be the smallest butterfly in North America (very close in size to its cousin, the Eastern Pygmy-Blue). At that size, not only are they tricky to photograph, they're actually kind of hard to even find!

So Wednesday, after shooting video of the bluebirds, Roxy and I set out for the south end of the Paunsaugant Plateau in the Dixie National Forest. I took both the still and video cameras, but really enjoy video and did that for the most part. I've edited things down, but still have over 6 minutes, so decided it was best to split things up into separate clips. You'll find a couple of birds (and lots of bird song in the background), butterflies, a certain dog we know, and more. Enjoy!


For Part 1 click here . . .


For Part 2 click here . . .

(Pt. 1 is a little over 11 megs, Pt. 2 just over 14 megs - Flash Video format.)

While the morons gave me the opportunity for my earlier rant, the trip to the reservoir, in addition to being a fun time for Roxy (a full hour in the water!), I also had a chance to do some macro photography. This time of year damselflies are pretty common on the shores of Tropic Reservoir, especially Northern Bluets. Beside the fact they are wary, the shore is pretty rocky and getting down to their level involves a little pain to the knees and elbows.

There were also a few butterflies around, though this Western Pine Elfin was about the only one cooperative long enough to get a photo. Seems like Florida and Texas were easier places to shoot butterflies than here. Why they tend to be more skittish is unknown to me, so I take what I can get when the opportunities present themselves. Of course the real challenge is trying to identify them . . .

I shot a few images of one of these Variable Checkerspots over near the reservoir, too, though on the way home I found this one in a much better location, sipping nectar from some flowers.I have no idea what kind of flowers, figuring out the butterflies was all I could handle - they're some kind of "LYF's", Little Yellow Flowers (smile).