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Posts Tagged ‘skipper butterfly’

Little Skipper Butterfly

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Flowers, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 14, 2025| 5 Comments »

Skipper butterflies received their name because of their quick, darting flight habits. Many species look very much alike and I invariably have trouble identifying them.

Last week I spotted this little skipper butterfly as it was feeding on some wildflowers at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I was really happy to capture this image of the butterfly with its proboscis extended, sucking up the nectar from a flower. What species is it? If I had to guess, I’d say it might be a Fiery Skipper butterfly (Hylephila phyleus), but my eye is not as attuned to the subtle differences in skippers as it is to dragonflies, so this is really just a guess.

Even it I can’t identify the butterfly, I can enjoy and celebrate its beauty. I encourage you all to slow down and take in the beauties of nature whenever you can.

skipper butterfly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Skipper and Susan

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged , , , , , , , on June 22, 2020| 4 Comments »

Skipper butterflies are common and Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) are common too, but what a lovely combination they made when I spotted them together on Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

skipper and susan

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Serene beauty

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , , on June 1, 2017| Leave a Comment »

There were crowds of people at Huntley Meadows Park on Monday, a  holiday in the United States, but I managed to find some moments of serenity and solitude as I contemplated this skipper butterfly perched on a faded iris at the edge of a vernal pool off of the beaten path.

I may be a little selfish, I suppose, but I enjoy nature most when I don’t have to share it with others.


Skipper on iris

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Skipper on salvia

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , on May 18, 2017| 3 Comments »

Every spring I seem to have the same problem—I see small brown skipper butterflies and can’t seem to identify them. Wikipedia notes that there are over 3500 species recognized worldwide, so I don’t feel too bad about my poor identification skills. I spotted this particular one during a recent trip to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia as it was feeding on what looks to be some variety of salvia flower—there are a lot of types of salvia flowers too.

As I looked through internet photos of possible matches for my skipper, I considered that it might be a Peck’s Skipper or possibly a Fiery Skipper, but none of them is a perfect match. I’m hoping that it turns out to be a Zabulon Skipper (Poanes zabulon). Why? More than anything else, I think “Zabulon” is a cool name.

skipper

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Skipper love

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , on August 26, 2016| 1 Comment »

Skipper butterflies normally do not get much attention because they are small and are not brightly colored.  When you look closely at members of this large family of butterflies, however, you discover an amazing variety of colors and patterns.

Give some love to the skippers. (Click on any one of the images to see all of them full size in slide show mode, unless you are viewing the post in the WordPress Reader, in which, I believe, the images will be shown individually.)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Skipper and purple flower

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , on July 29, 2014| 6 Comments »

A handsome little skipper feeds on a gorgeous purple flower and the result is simply beautiful.

skipper_purple_blog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Skipper on a leaf

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 19, 2014| 11 Comments »

Small skipper butterflies don’t stand out as much as their larger, more colorful brethren, but they have an understated beauty that I find striking. It’s a daunting challenge, however, to identify them.

According to Wikipedia, there are more than 3500 recognized species of skippers worldwide, so I don’t feel too bad that my identification skills are weak in this area. As I looked through images on-line, I came across one identified as a Little Glassywing (Pompeius verna) that looks a bit like the one that I photographed, though my confidence level in this identification is pretty low.

I am confident, however, that I like the image I captured of the little skipper. There is a pretty good amount of detail, the background is blurred, and the leaves on which the butterfly is perched makes for an interesting pose.

UPDATE: A butterfly expert has definitively identified this as a female Sachem (Atalopedes campestris). Thanks to Joe Schelling and Jim Brock for their assistance in identifying this little skipper.

skipper1_blog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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