Tag: butterflies of Eliza Howell Park
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Mourning Cloak: # 10 of “23 Butterflies in 2023”
Leonard Weber March 8, 2023 The Mourning Cloak is one of the earliest butterflies of the year, often the very first. And it probably has the longest adult lifespan of all North American butterflies. I usually see the first Mournibg Cloak in Eliza Howell Park in April, but have seen one as early as March…
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Red Admiral: # 9 of “23 Butterflies in 2023”
The Red Admiral is another butterfly present every year in Eliza Howell Park that is attractive and easy to spot. When it visits flowers, it often lets watchers and photographers get quite close. It will nectar with the wings open as well as with wings closed. The wingspan is about 2 inches. Their season in…
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Common Checkered-Skipper: # 8 of “23 Butterflies in 2023”
It is called “common” and frequent visitors to Eliza Howell Park can expect to see it several time from late May into September, but the Common Checkered-Skipper is not as numerous as many of the others in this series. It is a small butterfly, with a wingspan of about 1 1/2 inches. As the only…
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Eastern Tiger Swallowtail: # 7 of “23 Butterflies in 2023”
One of the largest, one of the most recognizable, one of most common butterflies in Eliza Howell Park is the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. This is a species with a small color difference between females and males. Females have blue on the hindwings. About the name: a) “Swallowtail” comes from the two little “tails” on the…
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Little Wood-Satyr: # 6 of “23 Butterflies in 2023”
Leonard Weber February 13, 2023 It is not a brightly colored butterfly; it is not large; it is not usually attracted to flowers. The Little Wood-Satyr is, however, reliably present during most nature walks in Eliza Howell Park in late May and early June. It is common before many of the better-known species begin to…
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Viceroy: # 5 of “23 Butterflies in 2023”
Leonard Weber February 7, 2023 Because it looks so much like the more famous Monarch, the Viceroy may be the most misidentified butterfly regularly seen in Eliza Howell Park. (For photos of Monarch, please see # 4.) The Viceroy is black and orange, with white spots. With a wingspan of about 3 inches, it is…
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Monarch: # 4 of “23 Butterflies in 2023”
Leonard Weber February 3, 2023 Monarch, probably the best known of all North American buterflues, is common in Eliza Howell Park. It is present from mid/late May until late September A nectaring butterfly, it is attracted to a variety of flowers, providing good views of it, both when the wings are closed and when the…
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Silver-spotted Skipper: #2 of “23 Butterflies in 2023”
Leonard Weber January 22, 2023 The species selected for the second in this series on butterflies of Eliza Howell Park is the Silver-spotted Skipper. It is quite common in the park, frequently seen here from the middle of June to the middle of August. The Silver-spotted Skipper is large for a skipper, the largest skipper…
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American Lady: # 1 of “23 Butterflies in 2023”
Leonard Weber January 16, 2023 Since Eliza Howell Park in Detroit is slowly getting recognized as a great place to see butterflies, this might be a good year to highlight some of the butterflies that can be found here, presenting them one species at a time. It’s a long time until butterfly season in Michigan,…
Eliza Howell Nature Walk 