Dusk On A Hoarymountainmint Bush

July 7^th, 2012. We were returning along Hunt Camp Road to Grant Mill Road when I spotted a Hoary Edge (Achalarus lyciades) butterfly feeding at the top of a Hoarymountainmint (Pycnanthemum incanum) bush. I’d photographed one the previous day at the Scull Shoals Experimental Forest (Green County, Georgia) but W hadn’t seen it.  We backed down the road and stopped. What I saw then was a Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus). There’s no way that I’d confuse the two but it was mind-bending until we walked over to the bush to find one of each species feeding. We spent some time photographing them with varying success in the fading light. And, then, there was a surprise.

Hoary Edge (Achalarus lyciades)

 This photo shows the underside of the wings that gives the Hoary Edge its name

Another photo that shows the gold pattern that’s visible on the upper side of the wing. The late afternoon light illuminated these spots nicely.

Surprisingly, the Hoary Edge flew down and landed on W’s arm in search of salts.

Silver-spotted Skipper (Ergyreus clarus)

 The underside of the wings of the Silver-spotted Skipper

Again, the gold pattern that’s visible on the upper side of the wing was illuminated in the late afternoon light.

Bee Assassin (Apiomerus crassipes)

While we were concentrating on photographing the butterflies on the upper side of the leaves, a dark predator was lurking under one of the leaves. An assassin bug, the Bee Assassin (Apiomerus crassipes).

The bug was hanging out on the underside of one of the leaves waiting for an unsuspecting insect to stray within range. I disturbed it and it…

retreated along the stem. I wanted to get a shot of…

its proboscis, which it injects a toxin into its prey to suck the juices.

Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification resources:

Hoary Edge (Achalarus lyciades)

Bug Guide: [Top] [Side]

Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)

- Butterflies and Moths of North America: Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) 

- Bug Guide:  [Top] [Side]

Assassin bug, Bee Assassin (Apiomerus crassipes)

- Niches: Bee Assassin 

- Bug Guide: Bee Assassin (Apiomerus crassipes) [Top] [Side]

Southeastern Flora: Pycnanthemum incanum (Hoarymountainmint) 

Related post: 

- Hoary Edge (Achalarus lyciades) 

- Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) 

- Wilson Shoals Wildlife ManagementArea: July, 2012

Scull Shoals Experimental Forest: Just Checking In

July 6^th, 2012. We made our almost-weekly stop at Scull Shoals Experimental Forest. Usually, we can drive to the end of the road to a turn-around and drive back out. But on the 6^th… 

we found the road blocked by a fallen tree trunk. It was a snag and much of the wood was rotten. But the trunk was probably about 18 inches in diameter and too large to move. So we satisfied ourselves by climbing over it and walking a little way up the road. We could check a couple of plants we have been following and were treated to a variety of wildflowers and insects.

We’d just had rain after a long drought and ants had to clear their tunnels of sand that had washed into them. There weren’t any ants in sight; just the evidence of their housekeeping.

This Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) is about three feet high now and had five suckers this year. It’s long since finished blooming for the year and one of its suckers is developing seeds.

*****

Passionflowers vines (Passiflora incarnata) are blooming. Insects are feeding and inadvertantly fertilizing the blooms.

*****

Angularfruit milkvines (Matelea gonocarpos) vines are blooming. It’ll be interesting to see if any develop seedpods this year.

A Hoary Edge (Achalarus lyciades) skipper was flitting from bloom to bloom, feeding on the last of the Heal All (Prunella vulgaris) plants still blooming. This butterfly wasn’t posing for photos and wouldn’t let me get a good shot of the top of its wings; I’ve posted some photos of this butterfly previously.

Six-spotted Tiger beetle (Cicindela sexguttata). Several of these beautiful beetles were scurrying around the road and they weren’t posing for photos either. I had to make do with a zoom shot which I’ve enlarged here.

A robber fly. I don’t know what species this is. It, also, was nervous about being approached but allowed me to get this photo.

One of several Eastern Tailed-blue (Cupido comyntas) along the road was folding its wings as soon as it landed. And last, but not least, a…

Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta) had a favorite perch just where we parked the pickup.

All-in-all, it was a fruitful stop even if we couldn’t get to the end of the road. Hopefully next time we visit, the snag will have been cleared from the road. It’s a long walk to the Green Comet Milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora) flowers we’re following.

Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification resources: 

 Southeastern Flora:

- Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in-the-pulpit) 

- Passiflora incarnata (Passionflower, Maypop) 

- Matelea gonocarpos (Angularfruit milkvine) 

Bug Guide:

- Hoary Edge (Achalarus lyciades) 

- Six-spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sexguttata) 

- Eastern Tailed-blue (Cupido comyntas) 

- Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta)

Related post:

- Hoary Edge (Achalarus lyciades)

Hoary Edge (Achalarus lyciades)

We stopped by the Oconee Wildlife Management Area at the south end of Lake Oconee in search of milkweed plants (Asclepias sp.). Most roads in this section of the Oconee WMA are closed at the moment but, while we were wandering around.at the end of the open section of road, we spotted a number of butterflies feeding on a patch of Heal All (Prunella vulgaris) plants. They were skippers.

Most skippers are frustrating to identify. So, like most things, we start with the simple and move on to the more difficult ones. This skipper had distinct marking on both top and underside of the wings that made it fairly easy to identify. This was a Hoary Skipper (Achalarus lyciades).

Showing both top and underside of the wings

A close view of the top of the wing

A close view of the underside of the wing.

The Hoary Edge belongs to the Subfamily Eudaminae, known as Dicot Skippers. As explained by Wayne at Niches in his discussion of a Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) the larvae of dicot skippers prefer a diet of dicotyledon plants, especially legumes, whereas the larvae of other skippers feed on monocotyledon plants including bamboos, palms, lilies, daffodils, irises, hostas, and orchids.
Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification resources:
- Westcentral Georgia Butterflies by Michael Beohm: Hoary Edge (Achalarus lyciades)
- BugGuide: Hoary Edge (Achalarus lyciades) [dorsal] [ventral]