Although I have been seeing the male Diana Fritillary butterflies around the yard for weeks (see photos at left and below), I hadn’t seen the rare blue and black females (Speyeria diana) until this week. Last year, I began seeing the females around mid to late August. Two of these females have been around my butterfly bushes for a few days now and I have been able to take lots of photos of them. One is very tattered, but still beautiful. These very rare butterflies are highly sought after by butterfly enthusiasts and are found only in rich woodland areas of the Appalachians (Great Smoky Mountains), and southern Ozarks. They are large and spectacular butterflies, and when the wings of the female are completely open in the sunshine, the blue markings are intensely bright and colorful.
These Diana’s are dimorphic butterflies, meaning that the male and female sexes look completely different. The male is smaller, and has bright orange and brown colored wings (see photo above). Here are a few of the many photos I have taken lately of this beautiful and unique butterfly, click to view larger versions.
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Tattered, but still beautiful, female Diana
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The female Diana’s coloration also gave rise to its name. The sight of a blue butterfly flitting from flower to flower in a forest glade evoked for someone thoughts of Diana, the Roman goddess of the moon and hunting. Diana eggs are laid in the fall and hatch in the late fall. The tiny caterpillars lie dormant through the winter. They begin feeding with the first appearance of their host plant, the violet. The adult butterflies appear from mid-June through September. They favor moist, rich woods and valleys along stream corridors and other openings where they sip minerals from dung and take nectar from flowers like milkweed and ironweed.
Great places locally to look for Dianas are along Big Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and at Mill Ridge, near Hot Springs. Dianas are a rare and memorable sight: consider yourself fortunate if you see this special butterfly.
Quote above from wildsouth.org, read more about the Diana Fritillary butterfly here.
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Sherry, how can I express how much I absolutely love these photos… I just don’t know the words that could express how really wonderful I think they are… And the ones below of the insects had me glued to my chair for a long time as they really are breathtaking….
Oh, thank you Spider. :) I’m glad you enjoyed the photos! Thank you for visiting.
I think if I lived anywhere near them and saw them once, I would crave more. How beautiful!
Hi Louise, I love seeing these female Diana’s. They really are so pretty, especially when the light shines on the bright blue spots. I look for them every year.
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