Just when you think the season is over comes the late summer brood of Leonard’s Skipper, a rare to uncommon species that hosts on Little Blue Stem grass. This grass is prevalent in some of the few remaining fragments of serpentine barrens that once covered much more area in the eastern U.S. The barrens look much like a prairie grassland with large sections of Virginia Pine mixed in. Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area (NEA) is comprised of 1,900 acres of serpentine barren, the area has over 39 rare, threatened, or endangered plant species as well as rare insects, rocks and minerals. It is located near Owings Mills, MD. My wife and I joined a hardy group for a butterfly walk this afternoon in temps pushing 90 degrees. The tough conditions were worth the effort as a Leonard’s Skipper was located along the Choate Mine Trail. It seemed to me to have very recently emerged as it appeared to be “drying out”. This provided excellent looks and photo ops for all. This species is typically a fast mover and hard to get a photograph of, but not today!
I’ve also included a ventral shot of a Pipevine Swallowtail taken near Babcock State Park, Fayette county, WV. (Click on images for a larger size)
