Sachem

As I mentioned in my Monarch post, at this time of year Monarchs and Sachems seem to rule the butterfly bush. This Sachem is a male. One of its primary field marks, aside from the season, is the large dark mark on the upperside of its forewing near the base of the wing. I like photographing skippers from this angle because it shows three wing surfaces at the same time: upperside of the left hindwing, underside of the left forewing, and upperside of the right forewing. Since their field marks are subtle, skippers can be difficult to identify, so it helps to be able to see as many wing surfaces as possible.