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Thursday, June 30, 2011

Love in the Afternoon

Two coral hairstreaks enjoyed a rendezvous in the wildflower garden yesterday afternoon.

coral hairstreak0628 (1)coral hairstreak0628 (4)coral hairstreak0628 (11)Hairstreaks get their name from "hair-like" tails that extend from their hindwings. An”eye spot” of red or blue usually accompanies the tails. The tails are thought to function as a protective device to distract predators that usually attack the tail. This species is seldom seen with its wings open; instead you will see the vivid orange (coral) spot band below the tail that gives this species its common name, coral hairstreak. Male and females are essentially alike, but females wings are more rounded.

11 comments:

Montanagirl said...

They are so beautiful! Lovely captures.

possum said...

From assassin bugs and murder in the garden to X rated flutter-byes, we are going to have to change the rating of this blog to violence and other explicit photos!
Boy! No privacy around your camera!

MadSnapper said...

OHHHH MY!!!! they are gorgeous, i have never seen any of these. so pretty

Connie said...

You should have told them to get a room. ha! ;)

They're beautiful! Lovely photo, Beatrice.

Ludwig said...

How indiscreet of you! Have you no respect for privacy? ah..., thanks for sharing, gorgeous photography!

Anonymous said...

We have a very similar butterfly over here, but why won´t they open up the wings so we can see the inside as well :-)

Have a great day!
Christer.

Unknown said...

Wonderful shots and I even learned something without my head exploding!

Cicero Sings said...

I took a very similar picture of the same way over here on the west side! )Only mine didn't turn out as good as your own). Must be the right time of the year.

The Knotty Knitter said...

Hi....Some lovely photos of such beautiful creatures....

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Yes, as Possum said, death (assasin bugs) and making-out is everywhere in a wildflower garden. ALl this activity going on makes it a wonder we get anything done in the garden.

Fellow photographers, Mona, Sandra, Ludwig, Christer and Rosa (love the sun) - your comments and compliments are much appreciated. THANKS!

Yes, Daisy they might need a room or maybe a flower for cover cause they are so out in public as Ludwig noted. Glad to have shared some info, Chip. I never saw their wings open, Christer. Cicero, I really got very lucky with these shots and the butterflies were very accomodating (thankfully).

Anonymous said...

These are wonderful pictures of the hairstreaks. Thank you, too, for information about this particular butterfly.