Banded Hairstreak Butterfly on Milkweed

by Karen Adams

Title

Banded Hairstreak Butterfly on Milkweed

Artist

Karen Adams

Medium

Photograph - Fine Art Digital Prints - Photography

Description

This is another image taken out by my mailbox on the tall wonderful Milkweed plants! It is June in Ohio and the Milkweed is just starting to bloom profusely which is really attracting insects and butterflies. This is a very tiny butterfly! The wingspan is listed at 1 1/2." So this view shows a tiny thing that is about 3/4" big. He sat here for quite some time, but I never saw him open his wings. When he did, he was gone in an instant!

It is sometimes a common butterfly in Ohio, but can go unseen for several years as well. Hairstreaks get their name from the "hair-like" tails that extend from their hindwings. An "eye spot" of red or blue can be seen by these tails. The tails are thought to function as a protective device that fools predators into thinking it is the antennae or head of the butterfly. They spend most of their adult life high in the tops of large oak trees. They come down to nectar for an hour or two early in the morning and again the the late afternoon. Their favorite nectar flower is white dogbane, but this one seemed totally content with Milkweed!

Thank you so much for looking at my images. I appreciate that very much.

I am very concerned with our environment and have decided to donate any money I make from any sales of this image to the ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND.....because the Earth needs a good lawyer! We all need to speak up and support efforts to protect our environment. We will not get a second chance!


**The watermark stamp will not appear on any purchased items. All images are protected by copyright law and cannot be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the artist.**

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Uploaded

June 22nd, 2020

Statistics

Viewed 401 Times  -  Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/15/2024 at 11:17 PM

Colors

Embed

Share

Sales Sheet

Tags