Thursday, February 16, 2017

Merritt Island, FL ~ Butterflies

Normally, I would come in from the North end of Merritt Island but the Haulover bridge is under repairs until June 1st.  I asked if this was damage from Hurricane Matthew and was told that's it's routine maintenance that hadn't been done for a number of years.  My approach was therefore from the South over the Max Brewer Memorial Bridge.  Once over there are a number of pullouts where you can stop and I often stop at the one bu Peacock's Pocket and check for butterflies.  Here i was blessed with another 11 species making a total of 14 species for the afternoon plus another life butterfly - Whirlabout Skipper.  Again here, the most common butterfly was the Great Southern White but there sure were lots of Eastern Pygmy-Blues and Salt Marsh Skippers mixed in with them.
Whirlabout Skipper

Whirlabout Skipper

Salt Marsh Skipper

Salt Marsh Skipper

Eastern Pygmy-Blue

Eastern Pygmy-Blue

Gray Hairstreak

Red-banded Hairstreak





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