2023 July 24 evening

Aziza Cooper writes: July 21, on Mount Washington, I saw one Great Arctic, five Hydaspe Fritillaries, two Anise Swallowtails, two Purplish Coppers, one Anna’s Blue and one Silvery Blue.

Silvery Blue Glaucopsyche lygdamus (Lep.: Lycaenidae)
Aziza Cooper

Anna’s Blue Lycaeides anna (Lep.: Lycaenidae)  Aziza Cooper

Purplish Copper Lycaena helloides (Lep.: Lycaenidae)
Aziza Cooper

Jeremy Tatum writes:  The butterfly below (a different individual from the one above) presented a bit of a puzzle.  It has little maculation, and a conspicuous a black-and-white chequered fringe.  I had originally labelled it as a Purplish Copper.  Thanks to Val George for pointing out that the conspicuous black-and-white chequered fringe is in fact characteristic of the Mariposa Copper, so I have corrected the label accordingly.

Mariposa Copper Lycaena mariposa (Lep.: Lycaenidae)
Aziza Cooper

Hydaspe Fritillary  Speyeria hydaspe  (Lep.: Nymphalidae)
Aziza Cooper

  Jeremy Tatum writes:  The Great Arctic below further weakens my shaky belief that Great Arctics appear only in even-numbered years.   Our Invertebrate Alerts shed no light on the question – as far as I can see, this is the first report on Invertebrate Alert of a Great Arctic in the years 2015 – 2023.  Perhaps we haven’t been looking hard enough.

Great Arctic  Oeneis nevadensis (Lep.: Nymphalidae – Satyrinae) Aziza Cooper

   Jochen Möhr writes from Metchosin:  This morning a Caripeta  aequaliaria.  I had seen the upper side when I first encountered it, but then, in front of the camera, it would not open its wings again before it flew off.  Sorry about that!

Caripeta  aequaliaria  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr

Caripeta  aequaliaria  (Lep.: Geometridae)  Jochen Möhr