Photographed on a walk at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center and Museum in Fremont, Ohio.
This seems to be a fairly interesting butterfly species. From Wikipedia through iNaturalist:
“It has been studied for its evolution of mimicry, and for the several stable hybrid wing patterns within this nominal species; it is one of the most dramatic examples of hybridization between non-mimetic and mimetic populations.
“
L. arthemis can be split into two major groups, mainly based on one physical characteristic: the presence of a white band along the wings. Individuals of the northern group, called white admirals, have a conspicuous white band that traverses both the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the wing, while those of the southern group, called red-spotted purples, lack that trait as they have evolved to mimic the poisonous pipevine swallowtail (
Battus philenor). Due to overlap in distribution among the two major groups, intermediates are numerous as hybridization occurs frequently.” The map on the
Wikipedia page is fascinating!
I haven’t seen one in Carbondale this year, though I usually find them near water and that’s had two problems this summer: not much rain and just a couple trips to the lake.
And now I have a conundrum. I have been using a tag, tm•insect•species•2024, to keep track of separate species in 2024. Up to now, they have all been photographed in southern Illinois. But this one was observed in Ohio, so does it get the tag or does it not get the tag because it wasn't in southern Illinois?
If I create a new tag so I can distinguish between all 2024 observations and those local to my area, I will still have to edit
all insect species posts for this year (28)…
» ID’ed as
Limenitis arthemis astyanax or “Red-spotted Purple” at: [
BAMONA ] [
iNaturalist ]
» Submitted as
Limenitis arthemis astyanax or “Red-spotted Purple”: [
BugGuide ]
» Species pages: [
BAMONA ] [
BugGuide ] [
iNaturalist ] [
UK Butterflies ]
[ PXL_20240825_171653808_LE15tm :: cell phone ]
August 25 posts
“Extras”:
“Wait! I *know* that name!”
1 year ago:
No post
2 years ago:
“#1 and #3”
3 years ago:
“Not many frames today”
4 years ago:
“The uncommon Common Buckeye”
5 years ago:
“Gray Hairstreak (first this year)”
6 years ago:
“Common Buckeye”
7 years ago:
“Travel day (to Fremont, Ohio)”
8 years ago:
“Travel day (to Boston)”
9 years ago:
“Still fascinated by structure & design…”
10 years ago:
“‘We’re gonna need a bigger garage.’ … *For* the boat!”
11 years ago:
“Obviously named for the boys…”
12 years ago:
“Another low-frame count day…”
13 years ago:
“Lame^2 (or Lame**2)”
![‘Gray Half-Spot’ [Filler]](https://media.365project.org/1/9510135_chjkuwyz79_sq.jpg "‘Gray Half-Spot’ [Filler]")
