June 17, 2012 - Butterflies and Moths

A few weeks ago, when the lilacs at our home in northern Minnesota were blooming, the flowers attracted several species of butterflies. Here’s a Monarch feasting on the nectar from the lilacs.

ButterflyMonarchLilacDunningLake20120518

Tiger Swallowtails were also attracted to the lilacs. According to our butterfly book, this is likely to be a Canadian Tiger Swallowtail. Eastern Tiger Swallowtails are also found in Minnesota but only in the southern half of the state. Both species have wingspans of 3 – 4 inches, about the same as Monarchs.

ButterflySwallowtailTigerLilacDunningLake20120519

We have a very large decorative rock in our front yard. One day I found this caterpillar clinging to the side of the rock. I submitted a photo of it to BugGuide.net and someone identified it as the caterpillar of a Virginia Ctenucha moth. (See next photo.)

CaterpillarVirginiaCtenuchavirginicaDunningLake20120519

Here’s a photo of the adult Virginia Ctenucha moth. I took this several years ago in our yard. Most moths are active at night but this one is seen during the day.

MothVirginiaCtenuchaDaisyDunning20050702

This Promethea Moth was attracted to our porch light one night. It’s a large, beautiful moth with a wingspan of about 3½ inches. It was very active when I first saw it, I took a piece of driftwood and held it near the moth. It eventually climbed on the driftwood and allowed me to hold it up and get a nice photo with a dark background. I carefully set the piece of wood on our deck railing and the moth didn’t fly away.

MothPrometheaDunningLake20120607

I was surprised to find the Promethea Moth still clinging to the driftwood the next morning. So, I took some more photos in the daylight. Notice the large body on this moth.

MothPrometheaDunningLake20120608