Fooled You?

I have share this information before. Actually, I think I share it every summer.

I love to photograph birds, but I equally enjoy capturing photos of butterflies. This butterfly is one of the wonders of nature, and I can’t help talking about it. I photographed the first beautiful butterfly earlier this past week. It is a Viceroy. If you observe this butterfly while on a hike, you will likely think you have seen a Monarch Butterfly. It is easy to mistake this species for a Monarch.

The second photo is of a Monarch butterfly. These two look so much alike. What is the difference?

• If you watch both of these fly, you will notice that they have a very different flying pattern. The Monarch has a more random, slow flight patern. They seem to ‘float’ more (sorry, I don’t have a good term for this). The Viceroy is faster, and more direct.
• The Viceroy tend to be smaller than the Monarch.

• Lastly, there is this difference in the wings that you can’t miss. The Viceroy has this extra ‘line’ (see the marked up photo).

So, next time you see a beautiful Monarch, take a closer look!!. Happy butterflying.

~ Rick

A late add: If you are interested in attracting more Monarch to your yard / garden check out this link: How to Grow and Care for Butterfly Weed

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Rick’s latest technology muse:

Check out our vlog, which includes more pictures and video on YouTube at tales.photos. Remember to subscribe!

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. Contact Rick for more information.

©2019 ©2020 Rick Cartwright

What Kind Of Berry?

This is a Hackberry Emperor. They are a common butterfly. In fact, I think we seen them almost every time we hike, at least right now. They live where the hackberry tree lives so that must say something about where we have been hiking.

They say the butterfly population is down this year do to that late frost we had this spring. We have noticed it. The last few days we have seen more, but there still seems to be less than in previous years.

~ Rick

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Rick’s latest technology muse:

Check out our vlog, which includes more pictures and video on YouTube at tales.photos. Remember to subscribe!

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. Contact Rick for more information.

©2019 ©2020 Rick Cartwright

A Friendly Nymph

This Common Wood-nymph was very friendly. He landed on Teresa, then a friend reached over and he went to her hand.

~ Rick

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Rick’s latest technology muse:

*Check out our vlog, which includes more pictures and video on YouTube at [tales.photos](https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCFQDGQDunrIlKumTDIMUKwg). Remember to subscribe!*

*Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. Contact [Rick](mailto:rick@rickcartwright.com) for more information.*

*©2019 ©2020 Rick Cartwright*

The Monarch: They Are Back

This past Monday I was doing yard work when I saw a Monarch flying across our yard. It was the first one I have seen this summer. I wanted a photo badly, but I was not able to get one .. I mean, I was cutting the grass and did not have my camera.

That excited me. I have been watching for the return of the Monarchs for a while, and this was a welcome sighting. We started going to our favorite sites to see them and on Wednesday I capture this photo. I have seen a couple, but this was the first photo of one this year. I am so, so excited.

I have been concerned about the status of the Monarch butterfly since I read this tweet in March:

It appear to be a real issue. Read more about the monarch butterfly defender and his death here.

~ Rick

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Rick’s latest technology muse:

Check out our vlog, which includes more pictures and video on YouTube at tales.photos. Remember to subscribe!

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. Contact Rick for more information.

©2019 ©2020 Rick Cartwright

The Admiral Is In

This is a Red Admiral Butterfly. The colors look a bit off (to me), but it is still so beautiful.

We are seeing a lot of our favorites butterflies now. I am excited that we are planning to participate in a Butterfly Walk next week. It has been a long time since we have done one of these organized hikes. I guess we will ‘mask up’ for this.

~ Rick

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Rick’s latest technology muse:

Check out our vlog, which includes more pictures and video on YouTube at tales.photos. Remember to subscribe!

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. Contact Rick for more information.

©2019 ©2020 Rick Cartwright