Atala butterfly (Eumaeus atala). It’s a very striking black butterfly with a bright orange abdomen and three rows of shiny turquoise dots on its hind wing. It’s sitting on a leaf near the top of the bush; the background is a sea of foliage. Atalas are normally only found further south, but we’ve got an isolated established population up here, that apparently survived the cold* days this winter. (*cold for Florida, especially for butterflies who are adapted to South Florida. Don’t @ me.)
A Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) clinging upside down to a cluster of small cream colored flowers. (viburnum, I think?) She’s covered all over with a light dusting of pollen.
A rather battered-looking Black-winged Dahana Moth (Dahana atripennis). The forewings are long and narrow, almost like a wasp’s. They’re brownish grey rather than black, and the ends are somewhat ragged. The right hindwing is missing, but the remaining one is a deep blue (although also slightly ragged). The head and abdomen are bright orange. It’s sitting on top of a cluster of small cream-colored flowers.
A small, narrow Margined Leatherwing Beetle (Chauliognathus marginatus) climbs on a cluster of small cream-colored flowers. Its head and longish thorax are orange-brown with a black stripe down the center. Its elytra are black with a border of that same orange, including down the middle where the elytra join. What we can see of the abdomen underneath is black and pale yellow.
For possibly the first time in her life, this morning my dog chose a mid-walk resting spot that was near both a bench and a bush full of interesting pollinators that I could photograph while I waited for her to be ready to go again.
IDs in alt text. #BugSky #bloomscrolling
