Butterfly Obsession

The Flying Mullet is going from mostly herps and birds to butterflies this summer! I can't help it, not only are they everywhere but they sit real nice for a picture or twelve. This week I'm going to take you to a behind the scenes look at Green Cay's most productive butterfly area. This isn't an area that the general public has access to and part of the year it is flooded by run-off water. It's one of my favorite spots at the park not only because I love the grove of Cypress trees but it also has features such as these limestone rocks that the Bobcats enjoy.

So what's the big deal about this little tucked away area of the park? Well other than the more than 50 individual butterflies I spotted there this week it is also the area that Killdeer and Common Nighthawk have used as a nesting area in the past. Raccoon, Opossums, and River Otters have also been known to use this area as well. But this week we're going to focus on the Lepidoptera.

Most of the butterflies in this area are Great Southern Whites (Ascia monuste). This butterfly flies in multiple broods and can be seen in groups of up to thousands of individuals. The larval plant of this tropical white is saltwort and sea rocket in the coastal areas and mustards inland. This butterfly is found year around in southern Florida but will migrate up the Atlantic seaboard as far north as Virginia. Below is a couple of mating shots of the Great Southern White. The female is the smaller smoky gray individual. It's amazing to watch the larger male flutter about attached to the female until they find a suitable resting spot.

Another common butterfly in this Cypress area (and seen out in the marsh areas of Green Cay) is the White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae). These distinct tropical brushfoot butterflies are widespread throughout Florida. They are often seen in open habitats including beside roadsides, in fields, and in gardens. Being in the brush-footed family Nymphalidae refers to the fact that adults have the front pair of legs greatly reduced and covered with short hairs. These front legs are rarely visable in the field, so brushfoots appear to be four-legged. Check out the side profile below to see the four visable legs. And the picture from above gives you a nice vantage point to see the orangish margins and round black postmedian spots that give this butterfly part of its name.

No matter what part of the world you live in there are great butterflies out there for you to discover. If you haven't noticed them before I invite you to take a closer look and really see these creatures up close. Watch their behavior for awhile and maybe you'll see some of them mating or laying eggs or foraging. Regardless I'm sure it will cause you to sit still for awhile and really tune yourself in to the nature around you. The next thing you know you'll be watching the other insects around and then you're in for trouble because those identifications can be even harder.