Skipper on Thin-Leaved Sunflower I

 

 

photograph of a skipper butterfly on a thin-leaved sunflower flower

 

Last Saturday morning I walked through an open field covered in wildflowers.  I always like diving into areas like that and discovering all the little things you would miss if you didn’t actually look for them.  On this particular morning I found the butterflies, bees, wasps, and dragonflies had their run of the meadow.  This little skipper was feeding on the nectar of thin-leaved sunflowers which dominated the field.

 

Mourning Cloak

photograph of a mourning cloak butterfly on purple flowers

This Mourning Cloak butterfly stops to rest and feed in a patch of tiny, purple wild flowers.  I encountered it while hiking with a friend this spring in the Great Dismal Swamp near Suffolk, VA.