tags: Whirlabout, grass skipper, butterfly, Polites vibex, Image of the Day
The photographer writes: I encountered this species of grass skipper earlier this afternoon in the West 11th St. Park. It is nectaring at volunteers of Cut & Come Again Zinnias reseeding from 2006. One good way to have a butterfly garden on the cheap is to sow a lot of zinnia seeds.
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White pairie aster, Symphyotrichum ericoides var. ericoides
W. 11th St. Park Butterfly Garden, Houston, Texas.
28 October 2006
Biosparite writes; This tiny aster, about 8 mm or so, was driving a lot of the bee and butterfly nectaring activity this past summer at the W. 11th st. Park. People with…
Fiery Skipper, Hylephila phyleus.
W. 11th St. Park Butterfly Garden, Houston, Texas.
28 October 2006
Image: Biosparite.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-…
Wandering Glider, Pantala flavescens
Notice the beautifully delicate body coloration and nearly invisible black veination in the otherwise transparent wings.
W. 11th St. Park Butterfly Garden, Houston, Texas.
October 2006
Biosparite writes; While I visited the West 11th st. Park, I was fortunate…
Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae incarnata.
A Gulf Fritillary basks in the sun in early afternoon at the West 11th St. Park in Houston on 12 November 2006. It was cool the previous Sunday with temperatures in the 60s, so this butterfly, an ectotherm, was warming its wing muscles in the sun…
Any idea as to the reason for the name 'whirlabout'?
I suspect the common name is derived from the way it flies ("Adult flight is quick and darting": see "Butterflies and Moths of North America" site maintained by Montana State University/Big Sky Institute).