I’ve seen quite a few more butterflies than usual this fall. I think they were attracted by the chamisa, which bloomed and bloomed and bloomed some more this year.1 The variegated fritillary below wasn’t entirely unexpected though — I’ve seen plenty of them during previous autumns.
The common checkered skipper wasn’t a huge shock either; they’ve previously shown up later in the year as well. However, I was somewhat surprised to stumble across both in the very last week of October.
On the other hand, when I passed by another chamisa bush in early November and saw a beautiful blue, with its wings wide open, I briefly wondered if I’d died and gone to heaven.2 Blues are even smaller than hairstreaks3 and I seldom see them with their wings open for very long.4
It can be difficult, even for folks who know more than I, to identify blues species without seeing their underwings. Fortunately, this little guy didn’t hold out on me all that long. At first glance, I wondered if it was a marine blue, partly because of those glittery eyespots on its hindwing. I also wondered just because I’d seen so many marine blues earlier this year.5
But then I remembered that marine blues aren’t nearly as blue as this butterfly was, and a name popped into my head: Reakirt’s blue. I can’t explain why the names of butterflies and birds I think I’ve never seen before sometimes plant themselves in my brain, but they’re almost always correct. So I went home, looked up Reakirt’s blue, and voilà! That’s exactly what it was.
The very next day, on some more chamisa close to where I’d seen the first Reakirt’s blue, I got to see the female version as well. Female blues are generally quite a bit less blue than the males and this one was no exception. Isn’t it cool, though, that both have a faint pink/purple iridescent sheen on their overwings?
Amazingly, a tiny bit of chamisa is still blooming in the Sandia foothills.
I suppose we all have different images of heaven. Mine includes a wide variety of colorful butterflies who pose on beautiful flowers and allow me to take endless photos of them.
I believe butterflies hold their wings open, at least in part, to soak up warmth from the sun. So it makes sense that I’d be more likely to see them with their wings open in the cooler months.
A couple of photos of the first marine blue I saw this year are in this post. I also later saw a male and female pair (scroll down on both pages). Plus there were many more I didn’t photograph, even a few who were migrating through my yard.
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I so enjoy your narrative Lisa! These beautiful butterflies are such a treat on this cold November evening. Thanks for sharing your skill, and knowledge (yes, knowledge) of the subjects in your Everyday Magic moments.