Butterfly Tree

A sap oozing oak tree has become a local butterfly hangout.  Bright red and orange flashes decorated the tree each time the butterflies took flight and then resettled.

 

There were half a dozen Red Admirals present.  I hear that Red Admirals are showing up in record numbers across the eastern United States.  I’ve only seen a total of ten of this species so far this year.  It looks like Blue Jay Barrens is missing out on the big event.

Coloration on the outside of the Red Admiral hind wing is perfect camouflage for sitting  unnoticed on tree bark.  They suddenly pop into view when the front wing is raised.

There’s no hiding when the wings are fully opened.  Red Admirals are usually quick to fly when approached, but these were more focused on the tree sap than on approaching photographers.

Question Marks made up the other half of the tree visitors.  The white question mark marking is plain to see on the hind wing.

Sap flow was the butterfly attractant. There were several of these seeps on the trunk. Judging from the positions of the butterflies, there were sap flows as high as 30 feet up the trunk.

This American Lady wasn’t interested in the tree sap. She was busy visiting Pussytoes on the ground near the tree. Pussytoes are the primary food plant for this butterfly and there were several females hurrying about laying eggs.

I found a Gemmed Satyr resting on the leaves beneath the oak. This normally uncommon species seems to be doing especially well this year. I’ve already seen several individuals. After this shot was taken, a second Gemmed Satyr came by and both butterflies took off on a wild chase. Even though a few individual species are quite abundant, total butterfly numbers have been lower than normal so far.

Butterflies on Rotting Fruit

When I was in the fifth grade, I was intrigued by butterflies that didn’t seem to ever visit flowers. A neighbor cut some limbs from a tree beside his house and I noticed a swarm of brown butterflies sitting on the sappy stumps. I crawled through the bushes, peeked out at the tree and got my first look at a Question Mark Butterfly. It was a most incredible sight. After chasing me out of the shrubbery several times, the neighbor finally asked me what I was doing. When I explained about the butterflies, he brought out a couple of lawn chairs and we sat quietly watching butterflies drink sap. He also made me promise to stay on the lawn and out of the landscaping.

I was reminded of my youthful adventures when I saw Question Marks feeding on some rotten bananas in the yard. Rotting fruit is a great attractant for many species of butterflies. Question Marks are normally quick to take flight, but an attractive food source makes them less wary.

Several days ago, I put out a bucket of old bananas and apples in order to attract flies to feed to some baby lizards. Opossums and skunks tipped the bucket and scattered the fruit around. Eventually, the fruit got rotten enough that the mammals stopped messing with it. That’s when the butterflies began to take notice. This particular Red-spotted Purple, recognizable by its tattered wing margins, has been here for three days straight. I just wonder if it’s taking time out to mate and get another brood going for next year.

I’ve read about animals getting intoxicated by consuming fermenting fruit. These butterflies might be finding a little hard cider at the center of the rotting apples. They sometimes exhibit some awkward behavior and I watched one fall off its apple.

Red Admirals seem to prefer the nectar of the banana. The skins may be a little bit skunk chewed, but they produce some good tasting juice.

The Hackberry Butterflies seem the most susceptible to the effects of alcohol. This one seems to have temporarily forgotten how to recoil its proboscis. I believe it's the butterfly version of getting stupid.

I hope I haven’t caused these butterflies to become deadbeat members of their species. I know this has been a great year for butterflies, at least here, but we still need every butterfly out there doing its part to make next year even greater.