Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus)

Birds weren‘t the only beauties I saw on my recent trip to the Ozark mountains in Arkansas. This Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus) was a first for me. According to this range map from Wikipedia¹, I live on the westernmost part of its range. Arkansas is well within the range, so I’ll count myself lucky to have seen this striking butterfly. I’ve been trying to learn taxonomic (Latin) names for the birds, butterflies, etc that I see and photograph, and it is quite a challenge. I thought it would help to learn the meaning of the root words, but even this has been tough. When I start to get the hang of it, I’ll share the knowledge.

Zebra Swallowtail - look at that long tail

I can’t remeber the last time I saw so many different butterflies in the same place. I may not be able to identify all of them, but I’ll give it my best shot:

Hoary Edge (Achalarus lyciades)

This Hoary Edge (Achalarus lyciades) butterfly belongs to the group of butterflies known as Spread-wing Skippers. The word, “hoary,” means “gray or white with age”², so I can see how this little skipper got its common name. Still no luck on the Latin.

Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)

If this butterfly looks familiar, it is probably because this guy can be found all over the US. The range map for the Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus), courtesty of Butterflies and Moths of North America³ looks like this:

~

Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis)

This Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis) really liked the back of my hand. I was carrying my tripod/camera on my shoulder in a way that brought my hands up near my face. This is how I was able to see (and talk to) this butterfly as I walked the rock road near the cabin. I was surprised that it seemed to like “licking” the back of my hand so much that it stayed with me for a good 10 minutes. Take a look at the cool caterpillar stage for this butterfly, (scroll to bottom of the linked page). I never would have guessed.

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

The Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) is just about everywhere in the US. I’ve seen these where I live, and they sure are colorful. I’m starting to remember some of the things I learned in  my Texas Master Naturalist classes about taxonomic names. The person who gets to name the animal can pretty much name it whatever they like. Sure, there are some rules, and names get changed for a variety of reasons. But I’m pretty sure I won’t find Vanessa in Words by William Whitaker. Ok, I admit, I just checked – not in there.

Black Swallowtail ? (Papilio polyxenes)

This last butterfly is a Swallowtail, but I’m not sure about which species. I saw these often, but I don’t think I ever saw one that was still for even a second! Whether perched on a flower or not, they pretty much fluttered all of the time.

I have a growing fascination with insects, but I have to admit that butterflies are one of my favorites. That sounds so “girly,” but I can’t help it. I’ll leave you with a couple more photos, and a promise to talk later about the beetles I saw in the Ozarks.

~

One more Zebra Swallowtail pic