Speckled Butterflies

Here are a couple butterflies I met last spring, a Great Spangled Fritillary and a Hackberry Emperor. Both of them are midsized butterflies of 1 main color but with a lot of complicated patterns too. Despite these similarities, the mostly orange Great Spangled Fritillary and the mostly brown Hackberry Emperor are unlikely to be mistaken for 1 another, at least if you get a good look at them. (It might get more difficult if you throw the Variegated Fritillary and/or the Tawny Emperor into the mix.)

I'm told that the proper way to address an emperor is "Your Imperial Majesty"; remember this if you run across a Hackberry Emperor. (I'm guessing you could address a Great Spangled Fritillary as "Your Greatness", though I could be wrong about that.)

Great Spangled Fritillary
June 15, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve
Photo 300991022, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Hackberry Emperor
June 15, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve
Photo 300993316, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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