The view from the other side

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There’s an adage that one good turn deserves another, so here’s the view from the ventral side of the gulf fritillary butterfly, Agraulis vanillae, that you saw from behind last time. The conspicuous white patches on this side make for quite a different appearance.

© 2012 Steven Schwartzman

Orange on yellow

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As I discovered when I wandered along the south bank of the Colorado River at Loop 360 on the morning of September 24, it wasn’t only dewdrops and a yellow sac spider that had descended on camphorweed, Heterotheca subaxillaris: there was also a gulf fritillary, Agraulis vanillae. Although the trailing edges of the butterfly’s wings were conspicuously the worse for wear, it had no trouble flying away when my camera eventually disturbed it.

© 2012 Steven Schwartzman