An off-white Clouded Sulpher

Clearwing Hummingbird Moth

Meadow Fritillary

Orange Sulphur

Great Spangled Fritillaries

Monarch

Here it is! My first Monarch sighting this year.

Primrose Moth: Schinia florida

Whites

Above is a Mustard White butterfly upon a Wild Strawberry blossom and to the left is a picture of a Cabbage White butterfly.

Northern Crescent

I had spent more than twenty minutes or so following elusive Northern Crescents around the meadow, trying to keep one in sight while I walked in circles and backtracked many times; then just when I thought one must be at rest somewhere right ahead of me I would see it, or another, in a different location. I finally gave up and went for a walk along the railroad tracks when I saw suddendly saw one lying there in the grass alongside the roadbed. It even fluttered it wings for me. Finally, I was able to get a couple of pictures of it.

American Lady

Now this is more like it! After mentioning that I had not seen many butterflies this spring; I suddenly see a few today. This American Lady caught my eye in one of the flower beds when I was checking the area before mowing my the lawn. And it waited for me while I rushed inside to get my camera and it was still there when I returned.

Clouded Yellow, Cabbage White, Blues & Cloak

I have not noticed very many butterflies around yet this spring. Our weather has been cool and a bit rainy. Butterflies like warmth and sunshine; and so there have been very few days that I would call butterfly days. I have seen a few beautiful, yellow Common Sulphurs, along with a few Cabbage Whites. Also some small Blues have been around for several weeks now. Its sometimes a bit disappoint -ing when I can't get a full look at some of the Blues when they land as most close up their wings; like this Spring Azure shown left. However, there is a positive aspect to it, for when their wings are closed I can easily see the unique markings of each, and that helps me with their identification. The Silvery Blue offers a view of both its top and bottom layers and we can see the under markings and also the black border which indicates to us that this is a male Silvery Blue. Last weekend I noticed saw my first Canadian Tiger Swallowtail this spring. The Swallowtails are often feeding on our Lilacs at this time of year but, although the Lilacs are now in bloom, I haven't seen any Swallowtails in them as yet.

My first butterfly sighting of the year was of a Mourning Cloak in late April.

Last Clouded Sulphur Sighting

This is perhaps my last Clouded Sulphur sighting of the year. This morning I took a walk around our flower gardens. At the back of our side lawn I saw this Clouded Sulphur clinging to the tall grasses at its edge. At first the butterfly was difficult to see as it blended in so well with the grasses . I pulled some of the grass in front of it to get a better focus and then having put my camera on macro placed the lens almost on top of it. I assumed it was dead as it had exhibited no movement at all. I picked the blade of grass it was on and thought I would place it on our patio table so I could study it leisurely for seldom do I get such an opportunity; but as I transferred the blade of grass to my other hand the butterfly flew away.

Chain-dotted Geometer Moth

A mottled leaf, flying in the breeze, caught upon a Juniper shrub at the edge of our sun deck. Later, this Chain-dotted Geometer Moth landed upon it.

Maple Spanworm Moth

This moth, the Maple Spanworm Moth, with its unevenly, scalloped wings and brownish-yellowish colour was found on the windowsill of a gas station yesterday when we had stopped to gas up. I have seen this species of moth before and it has always been at this time of year. It reminds me of an ageing, small autumn leaf with its dark speckled appearance.

Viceroy

White Admiral

A White Admiral butterfly in my garden this early evening.

Cabbage White Butterfly

To the left is a Cabbage White male and to the right is the Cabbage White female Butterfly.

A Beautiful Monarch in My Garden

Painted Lady Butterfly [Vanessa cardul]

This Painted Lady butterfly was found in my flower garden this morning; photographed while resting on a Pink Cone Flower.

Moth At Rest: Black-rimmed Prominent

I found this Black-rimmed Prominent moth at rest upon my back porch window. The photo to the left shows the underside of the moth clinging to the window. Going inside I was able to get a profile view of it in a closed wing position shown on the right.