northeast-flora-and-fauna

There are lots of butterflies in NJ that look similar [1] though most of the time there are subtle differences that allow them to be identified (even if it requires getting a better look than the butterfly provides to you). But I'm not confident this can be done with the Spring Azure ,  Summer Azure , Lucia Azure , and Appalachian Azure . They (and other) species are small butterflies with light, speckled underwings with (at least for males) bluish-purple upperwings, and without the "tails" and orange spots associated with Eastern Tailed-blues .  Although today these butterflies seem to be recognized as separate species in a Spring Azure Complex  (where a complex is a set of related species that are difficult to differentiate) there have been times in the past when they were all considered one species with different broods and with regional variations.  Having said that, some lepidopterists appear to have detected subtle physical differences between Spring and Summ...

Last week I got an ID for one of my older pictures, this one is a species of long-legged flies in the complex Condylostylus sipho . If you like shiny things, these flies fill the bill. A complex is a term used when there are 2 or more very similar and closely related species that are extremely difficult to differentiate. In this case there are considered to be 6 species in this complex, and they're all fairly small, metallic-green flies. None of the species has a common name, though the family, dolichopodidae , are referred to as Long-legged Flies [1]. Though other flies like mosquitoes have long legs, mosquitoes are in a different family. While the Long-legged Flies are considered predatory, their choice of prey is to feed off various invertebrates (including in some cases mosquito larvae). The lesson: Not all flies with long legs are going to bother you. June 5, 2019 at Murray Hill Photo 44124004, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] Note that there are lots of o...