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Jun 18

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Higher Elevation Butterflies

Back to the Colonel Devin Trail in Payson, Arizona yesterday with hopes the Butterfly Weed was finally in bloom. (It was late to bloom this year so we found very little on the last trip up). This time, we saw plenty and were rewarded with Western Tiger Swallowtails and Northwestern Fitillaries nectaring on it. My favorite photos from the hike are below. Read more

Jun 20

butterfly meetup

We went back to Payson and the Colonel Devin Trail yesterday but the winds were even stronger than last week so I didn’t come home with many photos. A great hike, though, and I did manage to get a photo for today. These Spring Azures are getting moisture from the ground. Think about the size of those grains of sand and you get an idea of how small these butterflies are!

Jun 14

critters

Here are a couple of critters we spotted along the trail while looking for butterflies. The first is a Robber Fly….a vicious creature! He needs a new name because what he actually does is spear his victims with his proboscis (including butterflies), inject a toxin that liquefies them and then slurps out their inside. Ewww!!! It sure is easy to see where horror movie makers get their monster ideas. The second critter is a Short-Horned Lizard. He’s also an insect eater but he just sticks out his tongue and grabs them. Same ending for the insect but more acceptable don’t you think? 🙂

Jun 13

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Red Spotted Purple

This Red Spotted Purple butterfly was one of only seven I captured yesterday on the Colonel Devin Trail in Payson (Canon 300mm, ISO 1000, f/5.6 @1/800th sec). It was much cooler than expected, storm clouds and very windy. Butterflies don’t like that kind of weather but it was still a great day thanks to our master spotter, Marceline from CAZBA!