The first day of autumn came yesterday and I have noticed a few things changing like some plants are dying back, the birds are migrating through, and you can walk outside at night and not feel like it's at a 100% humidity. Still, in the morning the temperature hovers around 80 degrees and if you weren't in tune with the small changes you may believe its still summertime. One thing is for sure, the butterflies and skippers are having a party right now in this warm weather.
Over the summer when the birding was low I decided to take an interest in the Lepidoptera order. Now that migration is in full swing they have been sent to the back burner. Of course during the middle of the day when the birds are hot and hiding I go back to the Leps and start taking photos for identification later. For whatever reason, I haven't found the patience to ID them in the field. It's so much easier to snap a few quick photos and write down a few observations and then thumb through the field guide in the luxury of the air conditioning.
This past week I've had three new lifer Leps to add to the list. One of my favorites was this Tropical Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus oileus). The best ID clue for this species for me was the arrangement of white spots on the wings. Also the range maps provided by Kaufman's field guide pointed to this being the most likely candidate. In South Florida they can have four to five broods a year. This skipper feeds on mallows as a caterpillar and the adults are often seen in pastures, brushy fields, or roadsides. I caught this one in the grassy drainage area of Green Cay which also harbors many other Leps. Usually I'm not that into skippers but this one rivals in butterfly I've seen.
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