Posts Tagged: skipper

Butterfly: The Gateway Bug to Entomology?

A retired Fairfield elementary school teacher says that butterflies are the "gateway bug" to entomology. It's the symmetry, the beauty, the agility, he says.  He's right. So, forget about the old adage, "stop and smell the roses" (although that's...

A common checkered skipper, Pyrgus communis, warming its flight muscles in Vacaville, Calif., on July 3, 2022. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A common checkered skipper, Pyrgus communis, warming its flight muscles in Vacaville, Calif., on July 3, 2022. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Early Birds? No, Early Butterflies!

Meanwhile, in between social distancing, what's happening in the world of insects? We were surprised to see a skipper butterfly today (March 25) foraging in our bed of mustard in Vacaville, Calif. Butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished...

Early butterfly: This Umber Skipper, Poanes melane, was photographed in Vacaville, Calif. on March 25. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Early butterfly: This Umber Skipper, Poanes melane, was photographed in Vacaville, Calif. on March 25. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This Anise swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon, foraged March 21 in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. The plant: Brandeegee sage (Salvia brandegeei). (Photo by Allan Jones)

This Anise swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon, foraged March 21 in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. The plant: Brandeegee sage (Salvia brandegeei). (Photo by Allan Jones)

Side view of Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon), nectaring on Brandeegee sage (Salvia brandegeei) on March 21 in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Allan Jones)

Side view of Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon), nectaring on Brandeegee sage (Salvia brandegeei) on March 21 in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Allan Jones)

Autumn's Majesty: Tithonia

If there's any flower that should be crowned "Autumn's Majesty," that would be the Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia), aka "Torch."A member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae), it carries "the torch of life" throughout spring, summer and autumn,...

A Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, lands on a Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, lands on a Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In a sea of nearly spent Mexican sunflowers, a lone migrating monarch, Danaus plexippus, finds food. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In a sea of nearly spent Mexican sunflowers, a lone migrating monarch, Danaus plexippus, finds food. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee, Apis mellifera, takes a liking to the Tithonia, aka Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee, Apis mellifera, takes a liking to the Tithonia, aka Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A skipper, family Hesperiidae, hangs out on the Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A skipper, Hesperiidae, hangs out on the Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The wings of a black hover fly or syrphid, aka "Mexican cactus fly" (Copestylum mexicanum), gleam in the sunlight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The wings of a black hover fly or syrphid, aka "Mexican cactus fly" (Copestylum mexicanum), gleam in the sunlight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Predators hang out on the Mexican sunflower, too. A crab spider, family Thomisidae, waits for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Predators hang out on the Mexican sunflower, too. A crab spider, family Thomisidae, waits for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have You Seen Me? Can You Identify Me?

Have you seen me? Can you identify me? No, you're a skipper, but which one are you? The colorful brown skipper butterfly that touched down on our Jupiter's Beard in Vacaville, Calif., on May 17 puzzled us.  First skipper we've seen this year in...

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Common Checkered Skipper: Sometimes It's Not So Common!

The Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) is never alone. It loves company, attracting scores of insect guests, from honey bees to bumble bees to butterflies. We've seen monarchs, Gulf Fritillaries, Western tiger swallowtails, buckeyes, and fiery skippers...

A common checkered skipper, Pyrgus communis, visits a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A common checkered skipper, Pyrgus communis, visits a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Common checkered skipper, Pyrgus communis, leaving the Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Common checkered skipper, Pyrgus communis, leaving the Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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