Monday, July 20, 2009

Mike's "White Elephant" skipper.....

Mike told me he took a photo of a "white elephant" at the arboretum. (Was I looking in a different direction or something???)
Here it is :-) Ha! I have to admit that he is very correct and this marking looks exactly like a white elephant! Actually, it is a Silver Spotted Skipper.....but I like Mike's name better!
Another shot where you can see the "elephant" on the side pretty well.

There are always a lot of these skippers on the flowers, but now whenever I see one, I will be looking for elephants instead.
There may have been 2-3 different kinds of skippers on the plants, but I don't know the names of the others. Here are some of our best Skipper shots.
Sometimes the flower is prettier than the skipper :-)
A very plain one. They look so soft and I love their big dark eyes.
The way the hold their wings was interesting....2 up, 2 out.

A back view.
A good view of the 2 up, 2 out pattern. Sort of like a little "paper airplane".

The color mix here was nice.
OK.....seen any "white elephants" in your garden???

19 comments:

CountryDreaming said...

Summer finery at its peak! I like photos 7, 8, and 10 the best. Some cute butterfly action going on. And the white elephant also looks like a carefree splash of paint. :-)

Mike said...

Nice pics Mary, the last few shots looks a bit like our large Skipper.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Almost thought you were on the wrong continent there Mary. LOL!! But Mike is right, it does look like an elephant. :)

Lovely shots again from this lovely place. Yesterday I found a new one so I can't wait for summer to go there to take pics.

Janet said...

Lovely shots of the white elephant! I have zinnias but mostly dragonflies. Don't know where the butterflies are this year.

Dorothy said...

Good Morning, Mary! Wonderful shots of these skippers and flowers. I have zinnias and the skippers just love them!

Mary said...

CountryDreaming: Thanks! Those are some of my favorites, too.

Mike: thanks...I think I have given up on identifying them. I thought that pale one might be a "Least Skipper"....not sure.

Joan: I think I prefer little white elepants to the real thing...at least in the flowerbeds :-) Will look forward to your new place and what you find.

Rambling Round: I've seen more butterflies than normal, so maybe they are headed your way, too.

Dorothy:Thanks...I will have to plant zinnias next year at home.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

From a non-butterfly person, I am amazed that there are so many different butterflies---and that people know their names.. I guess it's kinda like me knowing the names of all of our lilies, daylilies and roses. Ha!

Great pictures this morning.. Tell Mike that the little butterfly doesn't look a thing like an elephant to me!!!! ha

Hugs,
Betsy

Mary said...

Betsy: It is a lot easier knowing the names of butterflies than all your lilies and roses! Goodness...I'd have to have signs for those. The elephant is the white marking not the whole butterfly.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Mary: Nice set of shots of the skipper.

Rose said...

I know that a lot of the skippers aren't as colorful as some butterflies, but I still love them!

Mark Kreider said...

The butterflies are a crowning touch!

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

The White Elephant is a unique mark.I like your Skipper photos,These are certainly interesting critters.
Blessings,Ruth

abb said...

If I were a butterfly, I'd certainly want to be one of the pretty ones!

And now I'll be constantly looking for "white elephants" in the garden!

Leedra said...

I have never noticed the white elephant in the Silver Spotted Skipper, but sure can see it in your photos. Neat.

Leedra’s Photos For Fun

Mary said...

Tom: Thanks!

Rose: I like the big dark round eyes the skippers have!

Mkreider: Thanks for stopping by! This is a great time around here for butterflies.

Ruth: I don't know if it always looks like an elephant, or if Mike just got lucky :-)

Annie: I don't know...the pretty ones are hunted down my butterfly collectors first! Size helps...those little blue ones are so tiny, they get over looked...which is a real shame!

Leedra: I thought it was funny when Mike pointed it out :-)

George said...

I like the White Elephant moth pictures! All of your photos show wonderful details.

Becky said...

Nope. Haven't seen any of these yet. we're behind over here.
B.

Eve said...

Your skipper pictures are wonderful! Love the "white elephant"!!!

Lindy said...

I'll definitely be watching for the white elephants now. Golly, there's always something to lead me astray! LOL!

By the way, what is the flower in the last photo of this post?