Finally, a picture!

11 years ago

I been chasing this elusive little bugger for years, seems every time I get the camera out they've already left. I saw this one and ignored it because I was in the pool. A minute later he/she was still working the porter weed so I could not resist, holding my breath that by the time I got out there with the camera and my glasses this little fellow would still be there, it was and very accommodating to boot. Finally! I'm only 100 yards from the mangroves, didn't think it would take so many years to capture a few pictures :-)

Tom

Comments (15)

zzackey
11 years ago
Cute whatever it is! Love the blue in it! Mayybe some type of skipper? I have a butterfly book. So many different names for them all.
User
11 years ago
nice pictures....they don't come easy..:) have you found out the name yet? i'm butterfly/skipper ????? love to see them!
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tomncath
Original Author
11 years ago
Both M's, you're right, it's a skipper! The hint was that my house is only 100 yards from them ;-)

Tom
tropicbreezent
11 years ago
We call that Snake Weed here, a great butterfly attractant. Pity it's such an invasive weed. The butterfly just doesn't quite have the full Skipper look to me. At some angles it looks like a Lycaenid. But thorax and abdomen are very Skipper-like.

When you mention mangroves, does it prefer mangrove habitats?
tomncath
Original Author
11 years ago
When you mention mangroves, does it prefer mangrove habitats?

Well, since it's a Mangrove Skipper I'd have a tendency to say yes ;-)
whgille
11 years ago
Tom, beautiful pictures!

Silvia
tomncath
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks Silvia, I figured most of you folks had not seen a Mangrove Skipper up close and personal and these pictures are much better than most of the ones I reviewed on GI.

Tom
happy_fl_gardener; 9a, near DeLand
11 years ago
Beautiful photography, Tom. Thanks for sharing. I don't think that I have seen a mangrove skipper before.

Christine
tropicbreezent
11 years ago
When you mention mangroves, does it prefer mangrove habitats?

Well, since it's a Mangrove Skipper I'd have a tendency to say yes ;-)

Of course, if you already know it's a Mangrove Skipper.
tomncath
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks Christine

Of course, if you already know it's a Mangrove Skipper.

I know, I was holding back to put a little mystery in it ;-)

Tom
tropicbreezent
11 years ago
That's a Rhizophora species you have there, isn't it? Do the butterfly larvae feed on the leaves? If so, they'd have to like their meals heavily salted. ;O)
Truscifi
11 years ago
Those are some amazing pics! My son and I loved them. Thanks for sharing!
tomncath
Original Author
11 years ago
...Do the butterfly larvae feed on the leaves? If so, they'd have to like their meals heavily salted. ;O)

Yes, and yes ;-)

TSF- my pleasure.

I linked this post over at the Butterfly Gardening forum as I'm sure 99.9% of them have never seen a Mangrove Skipper either....

Tom
zzackey
11 years ago
I never saw one. I'm just starting to get interested in butterflies. We have little yellow skippers here in NE Georgia. And of course plenty of Zebras. I have a blue Porter's weed in my greenhouse that I snagged from a friend's garden in Vero Beach. Mine's in a pot and struggling. I'd love to put it in the ground, but I don't think it would take a freeze. You were lucky you had a good poser. I tried to take photos the other day and they kept flying away from me!
tropicbreezent
11 years ago
I've always liked mangroves, they're sometimes referred to as "The Cradle of Life". A very important part of the ecosystem. I've often seen lots of butterflies near mangroves but they mainly seemed to be feeding on flowering plants on the shoreline or getting salt from saltwater dampened sand. Off the top of my head I don't know any butterfly species that has larvae feeding on any mangrove species. I'll have to keep an eye out for that now.

Butterflies can be difficult to photograph, but now and again you can come across a good poser. I have opportunistically got some good photos over the years.