Other Butterflies from around Cape May

Common Buckeyes certainly lived up to their name when I was in Cape May last week. A lot of other butterfly species were also busy nectaring in the same areas as the buckeyes. Here are a few of them, starting with a Red Admiral photographed at Higbee Beach. In Mariposa Road, Robert Pyle argues for calling this species "Red Admirable" instead of "Red Admiral" to avoid confusion with the true admirals, a separate group of butterfly species from genus Vanessa. Under either name, the species is beautiful and certainly admirable.

Another Vanessa butterfly, American Lady, was also active in good numbers. This one was photographed at the state park.

I saw a few Mourning Cloaks at the state park. The day after I photographed this one, I saw a Mourning Cloak around the same group of plants. I am not sure if it was the same individual.

The skipper I saw most frequently was the Fiery Skipper. This species has a few variations. While most are bright orange, some can be very dark, as in the photo below. The undersides of Fiery Skipper wings are spotted, almost as if they have a pox.

I also saw a few Gray Hairstreaks around Cape May. This individual was photographed at Brigantine, but I saw a few in the state park as well.