Category Archives: taxonomy

Butterflies — Made in America

Posted on May 15, 2023 by Rick

A new paper in Nature Ecology and Evolution suggests that butterflies evolved in what is now the Americas, where they originally fed on plants in the legume family. The research team, led by Akito Kawahara at the University of Florida’s … Continue reading →

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A Tale of Two (or More) Crescents

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Rick

Oh for the simple days when in the mid-Atlantic region if you saw a crescent you could safely assume it was the common, indeed almost ubiquitous, Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos).  The only doubt to contend with would be if you … Continue reading →

Posted in conservation, evolution, general butterfly news, Identification tips, maryland, sightings, state butterflies, taxonomy | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Low-hanging Fruit for Maryland Lep Observers

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Rick

With the data from the Maryland Biodiversity Project in hand that I posted about recently, I dug a little deeper to see where a diligent butterfly observer might make some easy dents in our understanding the distribution of Maryland butterflies. … Continue reading →

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A Skipper Out of Sync With Its Nectar Source?

Posted on September 2, 2022 by Rick

This is likely to be the weekend that the first Leonard’s Skipper shows up at Soldiers Delight serpentine barrens in Baltimore Co.  Last week they were AWOL but it was a terrific field experience for folks wanting to nail the … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, conservation, general butterfly news, sightings, taxonomy | Leave a comment

Mid-Atlantic Butterfly Field Almanac for the Week of July 24

Posted on July 23, 2021 by Rick

Highlights: Southern Cloudywing, Aphrodite Fritillary, Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, Common Sootywing Late July into early August marks the zenith of butterfly diversity in the mid-Atlantic, a confluence of lots of grass skippers, the greater fritillaries, and some midsummer univoltine specialties like Bog … Continue reading →

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Mid-Atlantic Butterfly Field Almanac for the week of May 8, 2021

Posted on May 8, 2021 by Rick

The persistent rain over much of the region this week kept butterfly observations somewhat down, but with a couple of new FOYs including some nice rarities. I spent the week in wet Garrett Co MD in the extreme western part … Continue reading →

Posted in almanac, Forecasts, general butterfly news, sightings, taxonomy | 1 Comment

When Summer Comes Before Spring

Posted on April 2, 2021 by Rick

Almost every year, LepLog readers have been fortunate to get a lesson in the complex Azure complex from one of the resident experts on azure classification, Harry Pavulaan. With his colleague David Wright, Harry helped re-jigger the entire spring lineup … Continue reading →

Posted in general butterfly news, Identification tips, taxonomy | 2 Comments

“Intermediate” Butterfly Biology: Anatomy and Phylogeny

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Rick

Thanks to the good folks at the Washington (State) Butterfly Association, you can watch Jon Pelham’s fascinating turn as the guest speaker at the February 3rd meeting of the WBA in Seattle. Jon talked extensively about new research on ‘wing … Continue reading →

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Sayonara, Speyeria; Buenos dias, Dione

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Rick

Jonathan Pelham’s new Catalogue of the Butterflies of the United States and Canada is out (28 January 2021), just in time to revise field checklists and such before heading out in search of leps this summer. Unlike the last revision, … Continue reading →

Posted in general butterfly news, taxonomy | 2 Comments

The future of collecting and collections

Posted on September 12, 2020 by Rick

While pictures and photo archives are terrific, you can’t take a DNA sample from a .jpeg or dissect the genitalia of a checkered-skipper image. That’s why I’m happy to announce that the committee from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering … Continue reading →

Posted in conservation, general butterfly news, taxonomy | 9 Comments