Common Wood-nymph

Meet a Common Wood-nymph Butterfly. Though they're less flamboyant than many others, these guys are also in the large brush-footed family of butterflies.

In my area they tend to be pretty easy to identify. They're smallish brown with yellow patches where you can usually see at least one of a pair of dark eyespots. In a spreadwing view like below, you can see the pair of eyespots easily, but when their wings are up you may only see the frontmost spot.

When I saw my first Common Wood-nymphs, I was excited to have found a butterfly that I hadn't noticed before. But when I found it in my field guides, I realized that this wasn't a big/interesting discovery after all; they described this species as "common and widespread". (Unless you're an expert already, a lot of your discoveries are likely to be plants/animals that are among the most common.)

It sounds like they're a harder ID in some areas of the country where the yellow patch doesn't happen, though I don't believe I've ever encountered that coloration around here.

August 15, 2020 at Negri Nepote Native Grassland Preserve


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