April 23, 2017 - Sanibel - Butterflies and Flowers

During our January trip to Sanibel Island, Florida, I also took some non-bird photos. This is a Common Buckeye butterfly that I saw at the Bailey Tract. This butterfly species has a wingspan from 1 5/8 inches to 2¾ inches.

ButterflyBuckeyeCommonJunoniacoeniaBaileyTractSanibelIsland20170118

This is also a Common Buckeye but now we are seeing the underside of the wings. It looks so different than the previous picture that you could think they were different species.

ButterflyBuckeyeCommonJunoniacoeniaBaileyTractSanibelIsland20170118

This colorful butterfly is a Gulf Fritillary. It has a wingspan of 2½ to 3¾ inches with females usually being larger than males. This photo was taken at Ding Darling NWR.

ButterflyFritillaryGulfAgraulisvanillaeDingDarlingNWRSanibelIsland20170117

Here’s a White Peacock butterfly. It has some damage to its right wing. Its range goes from southern Florida and Texas, through Mexico and Central America, and down to Argentina. It has a wingspan of 2 to 2¾ inches. This photo was also taken at the Bailey Tract.

ButterflyWhitePeacockAnartiajatrophaeBaileyTractSanibelIsland20170118

I always enjoy photographing Hibiscus flowers.

HibiscusflowerSanibelIsland20170118

This is Wild Poinsettia. It’s a relative of the Poinsettia house plant which is popular around Christmas.

MistletoeWildBaileyTractSanibelIsland20170118

One of the main roads on Sanibel Island is Periwinkle Way, named after this pretty little flower.

PeriwinkleLighthouseSanibelIsland20170118

Railroad Vine grows along the wildlife drive in Ding Darling NWR.

RailroadVineflowerDingDarlingNWRSanibelIsland20170117