butterfly | Range Tracking

Fritillary Friday Metamorphosis

2018/03/31 by terranovabay

The good luck tale of an urban Gulf Fritillary caterpillar. A couple of Gulf Fritillary caterpillars and a Cuban Treefrog in a mix of plants that include the Fritillary’s host plant, the passionflower vine, next to a well-travelled walkway at Audubon House. A close-up of one of the Gulf Fritillary caterpillars showing the defensive spines protruding from along its body. One of the caterpillars made its way to the railing along the paved walkway where it attached itself and made […]

Categories: Nature • Tags: Agraulis vanillae, Audubon House, butterfly, Chrysalis, Gulf Fritillary, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, passionflower vine, pupa, Pupal Case

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Monarch Of The Flowers

2018/03/25 by terranovabay

A Monarch butterfly slurps up nectar through its proboscis from the flowers along Oslo Road in the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area. The white spots on its body and head are quite appealing.

Categories: Nature • Tags: butterfly, Danaus plexippus, Monarch, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area

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Zebra Longwing Tuesday

2018/03/20 by terranovabay

A Zebra Longwing butterfly laying eggs in the garden on Tuesday. Note how her proboscis is rolled up.

Categories: Nature • Tags: Audubon House, butterfly, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, Zebra Longwing

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A Safe Place In The Dark

2018/01/29 by terranovabay

A night roost for Zebra Longwings, the state butterfly of Florida, discovered accidentally at dusk along one of the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area trails behind Audubon House. Oftentimes a large number of these butterflies will congregate in the same spot at night. The glaring light from the flash does not due justice to their actual coloration.

Categories: Nature • Tags: Audubon House, butterfly, Florida, Heliconius charithonia, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, Zebra Longwing

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Monarch Larva

2017/09/14 by terranovabay

With very distinctive stripes, a Monarch butterfly larva gorges on milkweed in the final days before forming a chrysalis to begin the metamorphosis into a butterfly. Seen in the butterfly garden at Audubon House at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area.

Categories: Nature • Tags: butterfly, caterpillar, Danaus plexippus, Florida, Indian River County, larva, Monarch

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Stained Glass Wings

2017/05/24 by terranovabay

A Gulf Fritillary makes the breakfast rounds in the first light of the day in the pollinator garden at Audubon House. In many of these images the wings are backlit by the Sun highlighting their scales, which give a grainy appearance to the wings. The topside appearance of Agraulis vanillae is less complex than the striking underside.

Categories: Nature • Tags: Agraulis vanillae, Audubon House, butterfly, Florida, Gulf Fritillary, Indian River County, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, pollinator garden

Southern Belle of the Landscape

2017/05/09 by terranovabay

At first it seemed like something entirely different. A much larger, stranger insect than the little beauty that it is. Probably due to the presence of false antennae at the rear of its wings coupled with the constant side-by-side, up-and-down motion of its wings which made the back look like the front of some larger, very active, fearsome bug when, in reality, it was just a little butterfly that has developed a scary masquerade to ward off predators. This is […]

Categories: Nature • Tags: Audubon House, butterfly, Florida, Indian River County, pollinator garden, Satyrium favonius, Southern Oak Hairstreak

White Peacock Watching

2017/04/27 by terranovabay

Portraits of White Peacock butterflies in the landscaping around Audubon House at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area. The garish Gaillardia flowers draw the White Peacock’s attention the most as a place to stop and feed on nectar. Note the coiled proboscis. Surprise! This bee flew by just as I was taking the photo. Nice catch that I did not even notice till I got home and looked at the photos. Anartia jatrophae sucks up the nectar.

Categories: Nature • Tags: Anartia jatrophae, Audubon House, butterfly, Florida, Indian River County, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, White Peacock

Cloudless Sulphur Sightings

2017/04/06 by terranovabay

A collection of Cloudless Sulphur sightings in the Audubon House pollinator garden at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area. The entire life cycle of this butterfly is taking place in and around the garden with different individuals in different life stages to be found. For starters, here are examples of the adult Cloudless Sulphur attracted to the nectar of their favorite plants in the garden. The erratic flight of Phoebis sennae is thought to be a protection from predators, especially birds.

Categories: Nature • Tags: Audubon House, butterfly, Cloudless Sulphur, Florida, Indian River County, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, Phoebis sennae, pollinator garden

A Varied Diet

2017/01/18 by terranovabay

A few photos of a Zebra Longwing butterfly in the Audubon House pollinator garden at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area in Indian River County, Florida. Aside from the butterfly’s flighty nature, these images were also hampered by a brisk wind blowing the butterfly in and out of frame when it alighted on a plant. In the image below note the large clumps of yellow pollen sticking to the butterfly’s proboscis as it probes a flower for nectar and pollen. According […]

Categories: Nature • Tags: butterfly, Florida, Heliconius charithonia, Indian River County, ORCA, Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, pollinator garden, Zebra Longwing

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Range Tracking

Photography by Bob Montanaro

Tag: butterfly

Fritillary Friday Metamorphosis

Monarch Of The Flowers

Zebra Longwing Tuesday

A Safe Place In The Dark

Monarch Larva

Stained Glass Wings

Southern Belle of the Landscape

White Peacock Watching

Cloudless Sulphur Sightings

A Varied Diet