19 June 2009

European skipper on ox-eye daisy


Those of you who enjoy butterflies know that skippers are hard to photograph because they are the epitome of short-attention-span fliers (and thus their common name). I was lucky to get this shot yesterday at Goose Lake park south of Madison. I don't know whether this is the common European skipper or the seldom-seen Ottoe. I'll be hiking with some experts tomorrow, so I'll seek an opinion then and will update the post thereafter. Click to enlarge to fullscreen.

Addendum: An experienced butterfly enthusiast assured me that the above is a European skipper (Thymelicus lineola), not the Ottoe. There is a nice photo gallery of Skippers at this link.

1 comment:

  1. good catch... I am tempted to say common just because of the area and the wing coloring but I would definitely hold out for the experts.

    ReplyDelete