Backyard and Beyond

Common Sootywing. A small black skipper, the only example seen on this day in Green-Wood, where all these butterflies but one were seen.
Rather better pictures than our last encounter, when there was also only one to be seen. The way the fall of light accents the scaly edges of this particularly brightly-spotted individual is fine indeed. The number of spots can be variable. Indeed, the more you look the more individuality you see amongst the Lepidoptera.
For instance, are these Colias genus butterflies the same species?
Zebulon Skipper. A distinctively-marked species amongst the confusing skippers. This one was seen in Alley Pond Park in Queens.
Eastern Comma.
Question Mark.

These punctuation butterflies will return next week in more detail. Amid a virtual storm of other species hosing up buddleja nectar, a few of both of these Polygonia were drinking sap nearby, clustering at the shady base of a lilac.

My observations in Green-Wood this year so far: twenty named butterfly species, plus four skipper sightings that I can’t parse. I expect a few more skippers before the summer is out, and who knows what else.
The small jewel of the Pearly Crescent.