Observation of the week – June 29 to July 5, 2019

Our second observation of the week is this lovely shot of a Hobomok Skipper feeding on bladder campion by user @bob15noble: https://inaturalist.ca/observations/27887039

I love how you can see the proboscis ("tongue”) of the butterfly extended into the flower, and all of the little details on the wings and body. It’s no surprise that this picture is such a good one; Bob (aka @bob15noble) is known for his excellent macrophotography skills and has contributed over 2600 observations to iNaturalist.

Bob saw this skipper during the one-day butterfly count on June 29th, on the Elora Cataract Trail just west of Shaw’s Creek Road. About the observation, Bob says: “I originally thought that it was some kind of Duskywing but wasn't sure of the ID, so I wanted to be sure that I got a picture. It was feeding so it wasn't as skittish as it could be. When it did settle on the Campion I managed to get a couple of good shots from a low angle.”

Later on, Bob was able to use his picture to refine his identification, saying “I realized that it was a dark form of the Hobomok Skipper known as Pocahontas that only occurs in females”.

This colour variation is relatively uncommon. To see how different the two forms are, check out this observation of a Hobomok Skipper with the more common colouring, also seen by Bob in the same area: https://inaturalist.ca/observations/27887043

The one-day butterfly count was a resounding success. Eighteen butterfly blitzers went out and visited nine different sites. In total, they observed 476 butterflies from 26 different species – including a few that have not been seen (yet) by our iNaturalist users. The data will be contributed to the North American Butterfly Association butterfly count program (https://www.naba.org/). With replication over time, it will provide useful information on population trends in our area.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the one-day count, and to all that continue to add observations to our project. Happy blitzing!

Posted on July 9, 2019 05:23 PM by lltimms lltimms

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